Secrets
by Truth-Between-the-Lies
Summary: My mom's new job caused me to move in with my Grandma. I had to leave Hesperia to go to La Push, Washington. It's not that I hate my Grandma. It was just that I was comfortable where I was. I also had something to hide. But everyone has secrets, right?
1. La Push

La Push, Washington.

What was there to say? I hadn't been back here in nearly twelve years. A small Native American reservation right next to Forks, Washington. And so I was moving back there, to live with my Grandma. From Hesperia, California to La Push, Washington. Not something I wanted. Not something I planned. My father left me and my mother when I was nine. My mother recently got a job that required her to travel a lot. So instead of staying at friends' houses, I was being made to move to La Push with my Grandma. It wasn't that I hated my Grandma. I just hated that I was leaving the one place I felt comfortable.

So here I was, in my baby, my 1987 Ford Ranger, with a U-Haul trailer dragging behind me. My mother couldn't be there to take me, so I had to drive myself. So with stops for sleeping, food, and the bathroom, It took me two days to get to La Push. The drive wasn't as lonely as I thought it would be. It was actually kind of relaxing actually. Time to think.

There was one issue that I realized when I got into town. Part of the directions that I had with me had somehow disappeared. Just my fucking luck. I had the address but not how to get there. So despite my want of doing it on my own, I had to stop and ask for directions. _Lucky me_. So I stopped at a grocery store. Hopping out of my truck, I tried to find someone who seemed like they could help me.

Shortly after stepping out, I literally bumped into this woman. I jumped out of reaction, as did she. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. You're new here right?"

"Yes." I said.

I noticed some scars on the side of her face. They were there but she was still beautiful despite them. "I'm moving in with my Grandma. But I lost part of the directions. Do you think you could tell me how to get there?"

She smiled softly at me. "What's the address?"

Definitely thankful. She was able to help me out. "Thanks so much..."

"Emily. Emily Young."

"Eleanor Monroe. Call me Ellie.

"You're welcome Ellie."

With a smile, I was back in my truck and off to my Grandmas.

.

.

.

It was like she knew. Just as I was pulling up to the house, she was walking out the front door. Hopping out of the truck once again, I immediately went to her and gave her a hug. "Nice to see you again Ellie."

"Same to you Grandma."

"Let's get you inside and get a drink. You must be thirsty."

"That I am. You always seem to know things."

"I'm just good like that."

"Yeah," I said smirking, "You're just so darn _special_."

A mock frown appeared on her face. "Love you too Ellie."

Following her lead, we headed into her house. Well, now our house, I should say.

What I saw when I entered was not what I expected. The house was the same as it was twelve years ago. Open, warm, inviting, homey. So that wasn't it. It was the face that four guys were sitting in the living room. Four really good looking guys. "Grandma...what have you been doing lately?" I said raising my eyebrows playfully.

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

Smiling, I put my hand over my heart. "Wish I could. Permanently clued there though. No help for me on that one."

"Ellie."

"What?" I asked, trying to look innocent.

She just rolled her eyes and turned to these guys.

Turning my own attention to them, I saw they were laughing. They were probably thinking I was weird. Wouldn't bug me if they did. I was able to get a decent look at them though. All of them were humongously tall. At least six-foot-five for the shortest one. Again, all were shirtless, so it was easy to see the bodies they had. Nice to look at that's for sure. All short haired and brown eyed. But the one thing that got me was the tattoo that they all had. The exact same one on each of them. I didn't get to think of it much. "Ellie, these are some boys that live around town. They have helped me out a few times around the house. And _don't_ you find some dirty comment about that."

She was right. I was going to say something but she stopped me before I had a chance.

Without hesitation, the guys came closer to introduce themselves. First one stepped forward. He was the shortest and seemingly the youngest. "I'm Seth." he said sticking out his hand.

Shaking it, I found the warmth of his hand weird but surprisingly nice. "Nice to meet you."

The next one stepped forward. "Embry."

Like with Seth, I shook his hand. Again, the warmth was there. "I'm Quil."

The shaking of the hands...again. And finally the last one. "I'm Jacob."

"Black?"

He nodded. "I remember you. When I used to live here twelve years ago, we were neighbors. You were a bit of a brat back then."

It was like a light bulb went off in his head. "That was you?"

"Yes, yes it was."

I just smiled.

There was a silence before Jacob stepped back to the rest of the guys. "You know, you guys feel like you're burning up. What's up with that?"

They just shrugged. Didn't seem normal but I wasn't going to push it. Something was going on but they barely knew me. I'd probably find out sooner or later anyway. Grandma smiled at me as she stepped closer. "I have a surprise for you. These guys helped me out."

"Grandma."

"Just trust me. Close your eyes."

I did. She grabbed my hand and lead me somewhere.

Only a moment later did we stopped. Still I kept my eyes closed. We went up the stairs and traveled just a little bit more. I heard the sound of a door opening and then was pulled through. I was stopped...again. "You can open your eyes this time."

What I saw was amazing. The walls were a bright red. There was a queen size sleigh bed whose frame was dark wood and bedding was red, pink, and white. The dresser and desk were the same colour as the bed frame. There was a nice wood floor and a window that had a nice view of the back yard. The room was absolutely perfect for me. With no warning, and no hesitation, I hugged all of them. "Thank you so much. It's awesome. I love it."

I was excited. As much as I didn't want to leave Hesperia, things were okay. The fact that Grandma took the time to make sure this room happened, made me happy. I knew she was trying to make me feel at home. I was definitely thankful.


	2. Time to Jump

Grandma, being the nice woman she is, invited the guys to stay for dinner. They couldn't refuse. Food is always something a guy never seems to pass up. While she made dinner, firstly, the boys helped my bring my stuff into my room. Nothing was put away but they helped bring it up. But after that, the boys and myself popped into the living room for a movie. So glad my Grandma loved her movies. Before the boys had a chance to argue, I put a movie in. As the previews began, the guys looked to me, waiting to see what the movie was going to be. When the main menu came up, they were a little surprised. "What? I like a little horror/action sometimes."

Just so happened the movie was Resident Evil.

Watching it was great. We all had our little side comments on different parts. More so the guys then anything. "Oh, come on. So Michelle Rodriguez's character is a badass. Milla is hotter and can still kick ass."

"But Michelle, the way she is such a badass is hot. She's got this attitude."

"Who would you rather be with? Michelle, or Milla?"

"Mi..."

"Jacob...Quil...shut up! I may like this movie but I'm a girl. I don't want to hear who you would rather fuck. Not into chicks here. I really don't need that mental picture."

Wide eyes. From all of them. Surely didn't expect a _girl_ to talk like that. It took a moment but a flash of something came across Jacob's face. "Ellie, you should so meet Paul."

"She might be a match for him." Embry commented.

"Paul? Who might this fellow be?"

"He's hot-headed, sarcastic, angry, bit of a womanizer. You just might be able to be someone who can handle him. Not many can."

"I'm intrigued." And I really was. "I might just have to meet him. Sounds like a...character, that's for sure."

"Why don't you come cliff diving with us tomorrow. Seems like something you'd like...and you'd get to meet him."

"Sounds like a plan Jacob."

Turning back to the movie, I smiled. This Paul guy sounds like he might be a challenge.

.

.

Not too long after the movie ended, dinner was ready. Grandma had heard our little conversation of meeting Paul and cliff diving. "Good thing you know how to stand your ground. Paul...that boy, he can be hard headed. Takes a lot to get to him. Has a bit of a temper."

Snorts came from all of the boys. "A bit." Embry started, "That's an understatement."

"He just needs to find someone that gets him, who can get a hold of that part of him which he holds back from everyone."

She said that part looking directly at me. It wasn't just him she was talking about. There was a little bit of me in her words. There was a smile on her lips. Just one of those things that I wouldn't find out then. Maybe at some point but not then.

The boys left just after dinner. It was nice to meet them. If they can handle the attitude that I have sometimes, they might just become good friends. Something about them was different. I couldn't argue with that. But what I did know was that they were good guys. Something in how they held themselves, something in how they acted, told me that. It would take a while to open up to them but eventually it would happen.

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Waking up was easy. Getting ready was the harder part. I just didn't want to move. Took me a few minutes to get in the shower, let alone take one. But once I was in, it woke me up a little bit. Enough to move a bit quicker so I could eat before Jacob arrived. Not even bothering to put on regular clothes, I put on a bright purple bikini. Over that was a pair of denim shorts and a navy tank-top. Didn't really need much if I was going cliff diving.

Popping in the kitchen, Grandma was right there. Just as I walked to the fridge, she was right there handing me a plate. A bagel with a good amount of cream cheese, and an orange. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Sitting down at the breakfast bar, I began eating. "Excited about today?"

I nodded. "Haven't been here a full day and you're already meeting some new people. It should help you feel more at home here."

"We'll see. I miss my friend."

"You'll make new ones. You already have for that matter."

"I guess. It just feels weird. I haven't been here in ages."

"You'll be okay. You only have a few months at the school. Once you turn eighteen, you can make what choices you want. But until then, enjoy yourself. Meet people."

"I know. Not everyone can handle me though."

"Well then they aren't worth it. Those who stick around are the ones who you need around."

"I don't know how you do it Grandma. Somehow you always know the right things to say."

"I'm your Grandma. I'm supposed to."

I just smiled and continued eating. Her words were stuck in my head.

Luckily Jacob, arrived just as I finished. Grandma went and got the door, as I grabbed my bag from my room. I would surely need a towel, and a few minor things later on. almost jumping down the stairs, I appeared just a Jacob was about to step in. "Hey Ellie."

"Jacob."

"You ready?"

"Better believe it."

Rolling his eyes, Jacob went to lead me away. "Have fun Ellie."

"I will Grandma. I have my phone if you need me."

Smiling, I closed the door and started moving.

Just getting to the drive way, I saw it. Different. Not something I expected of him but not too bad. "Nice there Jacob. 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit. I kind of like it."

"You know cars?"

"Decently. I had to learn to fix them, being that we didn't have to money to always get them fixed. I know my way around."

"What are we going to find out about you?" He said smiling.

"Only what I want you to know."

And I was seriously about that, though I said it in a playful manner.

.

Getting to the cliffs was easy and didn't take that long either. As soon as I hopped out of the car, Seth, Embry and Quil, were right there to greet us. Before I could get any where my phone rang. "Hello?"

"Damn girl, you better not have forgotten me."

"Sophia, I could never forget you."

"Damn right. Now...why haven't you called me?"

"I only got here yesterday."

"I hear voices. Where are you?"

"Grandma had some guys over from the Res help do my room. I'm hanging with them today."

"Guys?"

"Yes guys. I'll tell you more later."

"When they're not around?"

"Of course."

"Call me later and tell me everything. And I mean _everything_."

"Love you too Sophia."

Hanging up, I turned back to the guys.

Nothing was really said for a few moments. It was like they were having their own little secret conversation or something. There was another guy not too far away, looking in the other direction. Again, shirtless. What is with these guys and being shirtless. "Paul!" Jacob yelled.

This Paul character turned around. Tall, just like the others. Easy on the eyes, definitely. Then these beautiful brown eyes. When I met his eyes, something changed. His face when from annoyance to _love?_ to anger to something else. Normally that staring would creep me out a little bit. But it didn't this time. I felt an urge to find out what the issue was.

While I walked to him, his eyes were still glued to me. Smiling, as I patted his cheek, I said, "No use in staring at me pretty boy."

Walking past him, I heard whispers from the guys behind me. From what I could guess, that wasn't the way that Paul would usually react. I didn't bother looking back. I just moved forward, towards where I could see the other guys.

Stepping up to the group, all eyes were on me. I waited a moment, taking them all in. Tall, very defined bodies, almost a little intimidated if it weren't for the fact of them smiling and playing around just moments before. One of them, the tallest I would assume, stepped forward. "I'm Sam. Sam Uley."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Eleanor Monroe. Call me Ellie."

"Monroe? Charlene Monroe's granddaughter right?"

"The one and only."

"Nice to finally meet you. She's told us a lot about you."

I tilted my head slightly. I was unsure. "She is one of the Tribe's Elders. We spend a lot of time with them."

"Oh..."

Duh. I should have realized that.

With introductions to the other, I felt relaxed. There was Jared, Collin, and Brady. All of them seem okay. It was when I was introduced to Leah that things were interesting. "This is Leah Clearwater."

"Ellie."

"Leah."

She just glared at me, expected me to back off or get scared. I just glared right back. That surprised her for a moment. She smiled very slightly. "You're okay."

I smiled at her words. It may not have been much but from the reaction from the guys, I knew it was a compliment.

After a quiet moment, I placed my bag down by a long log. As soon as I did, my feet moved me again. This time to the edge of the cliff. The height was taller than I thought it would be but the view was absolutely amazing. To see the ocean from that vantage point, to have the trees going around us, it was absolutely beautiful.

With a smile on my face, there was only one thing I wanted to do. I stripped off my top and shorts, leaving me in just my bikini. No hesitation, no worries. I just jumped. Air was rushing past. A strong salty smell hit my nose. The dampness of the crashing waves created a mist that I fell through. Exciting and scary at the same time. The instant I hit the water, I knew I would do it again. The rush was worth the risk.


	3. Paul and A chat with Jacob

_**This one, I know what I want to do and how I want to get there. I have a few chapters written already. and what I don't have written, I have a basic plan for. As I have said, I will continue with my Emmett story, but I lack inspiration at the moment. Suggestions are always welcome, for either of my stories for that matter. Thanks for reading. **_

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"Paul!"

Stupid Jacob. I turned around anyways. Jacob had no...a girl was with him. She was hot. Shorter than me but not short. A smirk came to me but it disappeared as soon as I _saw_ those Hazel eyes. That was it. No one else mattered. The earth, the sun, the pack, the tribe. None of them had anything ties to me. All my ties were to her. Gravity did not hold me to the earth, she did.

I imprinted, I fucking imprinted. Off all people. No one expected me to, especially me. Pissed me off. I hated her. The instant I thought that, the instant I regretted it. Even though I didn't know her, I couldn't hate her.

Just after, she walked towards me. there was a smile of her face as she got closer to me. Patting my face she spoke, "No use in staring at me pretty boy."

I couldn't say anything. She just walked passed. "Did he do what I think he did?"

"That look."

"I think he did."

"Guys...shut up!"

I didn't even bother looking at them. I just followed her to where the others were.

I got there just as Sam stepped forward. "I'm Sam. Sam Uley."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Eleanor Monroe. Call me Ellie."

"Monroe? Charlene Monroe's granddaughter right?"

"The one and only."

"Nice to finally meet you. She's told us a lot about you."

She tilted her head slightly. Like she was unsure but curious. "She is one of the Tribe's Elders. We spend a lot of time with them."

"Oh..."

And then there was the introduction. Leaving Leah for last. Sam introduced her. "This is Leah Clearwater."

"Ellie," Leah spoke.

"Leah," Ellie said right back.

Both had their arms crossed. Leah was glaring at her. She glared right back. Which shocked not only Leah but all of us. Leah smiled very slightly. "You're okay."

It was a shock to all of us.

So much so that there was a moment where we were all quiet. During that moment, Ellie placed her bag down and walked to the edge of the cliff. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. The imprint wouldn't let me. She was beautiful standing on the edge. Before any of us could do anything, she stripped off her top and shorts, leaving just a purple bikini, and jumped.

I just stared at the spot where she just jumped from. It was quite for a moment before i heard Collin speak. "Nice body on her."

Instinctively a growl escaped from me. I began shaking. That was my imprint he was talking about. Mine. All eyes were on me. "Paul!"

I heard Sam, but I couldn't listen. "Paul!"

This time he grabbed my shoulders. "Paul, calm yourself down."

I tried. Thinking of her helped. Seeing her smile was what calmed me. "What is your problem Paul? Were you really going to phase and attack your fellow wolf?"

"He commented on MY imprint."

That shocked them. "Your imprint?"

"Yes. I...I imprinted on Ellie."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

.

.

Getting to the surface only took a moment. First thing was a big breath of fresh air. My heart was going a million miles an hour. Keeping as steady as I could in the moving Ocean, I looked up to see Paul, Jacob, and Sam watching me from the cliff's edge. The biggest smile appeared on my face. "Are you going to join me or just stare?" I yelled as loud as I could.

Literally a second later, Jacob and Paul were jumping. As quickly as I could to make sure I wasn't in the way, I was swimming to shore. I was ready to go again. I didn't even bother waiting for Paul and Jacob. Once getting to shore, I immediately began heading back to the cliff.

Reaching the top, I didn't even bother stopping. I ran. Straight to the edge and I jumped again. The rush was amazing. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as my heart pumped like a racehorse ran. The smell, rush of air, slight chill in the air. All of it added to the rush. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be coming back to do it again.

The second time I got back to the cliff, I sat down on the log where I put my bag. Needed a little bit of a rest at least. Seth sat down next to me. He was a nice kid. So for a little while I was chatting with him. While I did thought, every once in a while I would see Paul glaring at Seth. But as soon as Paul would see me looking, he would stop. Definitely a little weird but nothing I could really do about it. It wasn't like I had any control over him. I just met him.

After a while, and a few more jumps, I was done for the day. I was tired and just needed to rest. Sitting down on the log again, I relaxed as the guys continued jumping. I wasn't sure how they did it but they did. Sitting down didn't help me relax. My body was still tense. Doing the next thing I could, I laid down on the log with my shirt and shorts as a pillow. Surprisingly it was quite comfortable. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

.

.

.

I felt warm. Not warm like out in the sun too long or something like that. I felt like I had a heater on me, but i felt so nice. Only then did I hear the voices. "Paul."

"Charlene."

"You brought her back?"

There was something in her voice. "I had to. I..."

"You didn't?"

"I did. And as far as I know she doesn't know the truth of what we are."

They continued talking, I'm sure of it. But my mind went back to wanting to sleep.

A moment later, I felt something soft and cold. The heat was disappearing from me. I didn't want it to leave. So I went grabbing for it and it came back to me. I had my heat again.

.

.

.

When I actually woke up, it was light. But no like it was getting dark. More so like it was just becoming light against outside. It took me a moment to realize that I was in my room and in my clothes from yesterday, not my bikini but my clothes. I never put them back on. I used them as a pillow. I was confused. As I was trying to figure this out, my grandma came into the room. "Elie, you're awake now. Good to know."

"Grandma, how did I get home? I don't remember coming back or putting my clothes back on."

"Paul brought you back here. He said you fell asleep on the log by the cliffs. Also that before he took you, Leah was nice enough to put the clothes on you."

"Paul?"

"Yes, Paul." she said smirking.

Normally my grandma does not smirk. She smiles or frowns but usually no smirking.

She knew something. There was definitely something happening here or something that had happened that she wasn't telling me. "What is it Grandma? What aren't you telling me?"

"Being intuitive are you?"

"Grandma."

My arms were crossed and I was looking at her seriously. "Okay, I get it. But I can't tell you."

"But..."

"You will find out. But I can't tell you. I'm not allowed to."

I wanted to ask more but I knew not to. The way she spoke told me not to push the issue. "Now, my little Ellie, get showered and dressed. You have a day ahead of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you do started school in a few days. Your mother gave me some money for you so you could so school supply shopping."

I groaned. I really didn't want to. "You'll be happy about one thing. She gave you enough to not only get some clothes, paper, pencils and all that. As a gift for putting up with her job, there is enough to buy you a good computer."

"Really?"

"Really. So get showered. We are going to Seattle."

"Thank you Grandma." I said getting up and hugging her.

Without another word, I was in the bathroom and taking that shower.

.

.

.

She was definitely right though. The day was a long one. We went to a few stores like Walmart, Target, Staples, and a few other random stores. I got the basics of what I needed. But when we got to Best Buy, was when I got really excited. This is where I was getting my computer. But what happened when we realized how much it was surprised me. I was able to get a Gateway desktop, 12 Gb on memory, 2 Tb on storage, great graphics card, the monitor, a printer, and a webcam. It was a package deal. Even with all that, there was still a bit of money left over. Since it was now _my_ money, I treated myself to a Zune. Definitely would come in useful later.

As soon as I got home, I started putting everything away and setting up my computer. As I started getting it out of the box, Grandma called me from down stairs. "Ellie. Jacob came by on his way home."

"Send him up. I'm working on my computer."

Just a few moments later and he was standing in my doorway. "Having fun?"

"I'll be having fun when I get this thing finally set up."

"Need help?"

"You any good with computers?"

"Not really," he said sheepishly.

"I'll take my chances on my own."

"I'm hurt. I feel the love." he said with his hand on his heart.

"Take it where you can get it."

I just smiled and continued working on my computer.

.

.

For a little while, we were just chatting it up. He was telling me about this girl he liked. Bella her name was. But she had a boyfriend that he didn't get along with. She seemed like she was an okay girl from what I could gather. I felt honoured that he would tell me about her when he barely even knew me. Since he told me about her, I told him about something that happened to me. It wasn't like I felt I had to. I felt connected with him somehow. Not in the sense that I wanted him, but almost like he was a brother. "When I lived in Hesperia, I had few friends. None of them could handle me I guess. I can sometimes have a bit of a temper. Sophia was my only true friend. Never could I imagine living there without her.

"Then one day at school, this new kid came in. He seemed really nice and was in a few of my classes. It was the first time in a long time, that I actually liked someone. We hung out, we went on a few dates. He was my boyfriend for a while. But then things changed."

My heart stopped. I didn't want to go on but I felt like I needed to. I had to tell someone and Jacob felt like a nice enough kid. I just wasn't going to tell him everything.

Jacob just patiently waited for me to continue. "He wasn't the same any more. He acted differently. He looked different. Paler, eye colour was different. He even smelled different, too sweet, sickly sweet."

At that comment, Jacob stiffened up a little bit. I ignored it and continued on. "He was...he wasn't himself. He would try to go after me but I wouldn't go for it. I tried to get him help but nothing worked. Nothing helped. Before I knew it, he tried to kill me. But he was stopped before he could really do any harm. I never saw him again after that."

"Why'd you tell me about that? I mean...it's nice you did but..."

"You told me something about your life, something you didn't need to, something I'm sure you couldn't talk to the guys about. You already seem kind of like a brother to me. I want to get to know you more, so I figured I should also tell you a little about me in return."

"You didn't ha..."

"I know. But I wanted to."

There was a small silence between us.

Tension came and went. He stayed there as I continued setting up the computer and installing software and programs. We talked more. He even invited me to go to this barbeque thing that him and his friends were having the next day. I wasn't sure at first but then I decided to go. Something told me that I needed to.


	4. At Sam and Emily's

_**I'm getting these out decently quickly. I have a few more type out. This story, I will tell you, will not be as long as the Emmett one has turned out to be. It will be a decent length though. Hopefully it turns out well and hopefully it is liked.**_

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Waking up was really easy. This time I was actually up before my Grandma. I even made breakfast for the two of us. She was surely shocked when she came downstairs to the smell of food. It wasn't much. Just bacon and my special pancakes, which had vanilla chips in them along with some cinnamon and a tiny bit of sugar. I don't know why I made them, I just wanted to. But she was shocked. I was too for that matter.

But I didn't let it bug me for too long. I took my shower and got dressed fairly quickly. Jacob said that he would be there to pick me up at 11 am. I at least needed to be clean before I went anywhere. Knowing it might be outside and a little chilly, I wore some dark, fitted jeans, a gray short sleeve v-neck shirt with a fitted black vest over that. I also grabbed a military inspired jacket and put on some gray sneaker. I felt good in it.

So once I was ready, with my wallet, house keys, and phone, I went to plop down on the couch and watch some TV before Jacob was to get there. Just as I was about to, the doorbell rang. Getting there before Granma did, I was shocked at what I saw. It wasn't Jacob. It was Paul. "Paul? What are you doing here?"

"Miss me sweetheart?"

A smirk was planted on his lips. "I can't _miss_ you if you won't go away."

"That hurt Angel."

"It was meant to. Now...you didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Jacob had to help his dad. I was sent to take you to Sam's."

"Don't sound so excited now."

"I'm jumping for joy Angel."

"Bite me."

"I'd love too."

Again with that smirk. "Urgh. Any who...If we're going to go then let's go."

"Your wish is my command."

Rolling my eyes, I turned around to Grandma. "I'm heading out, Grandma. See you later."

"Don't have too much fun now." she said raising her eyebrows.

"Grandma!"

"You do it all the time. I'm allowed to have my fun. Now go sweetheart. I'll see you when you get home later."

With a smile we were off.

Closing the door behind us. I continued walking, not even looking at Paul. I wanted to. As crazy as that sounds, I did. But I wasn't going to let him know that. There was a black F-150 parked in the driveway so I assumed that was his vehicle. When he hopped in the driver's seat, I was getting in the passenger. As he began driving, I stared out the window. There was this funny feeling. Something was different here. I was a little chilly in the truck and my first instinct was to scoot closer to Paul. As soon as that ran though my mind, I was shocked. I wanted to say that it would have just been because he was so warm. But that wasn't it, at least not entirely. I just wanted to be closer to him.

Never had I felt this for someone so quickly. He was a good looking guy. I had to admit that. But so were the others. They each looked good. But none of the others stood out to me. Paul was the one that did that. Even with that in mind, one thing stood out to me, something that I remembered. Paul was said to be a womanizer. That was something that I didn't want to deal with. That was where the contradiction of feelings was coming from.

Not a word was said during the drive. I just didn't have the mental capacity at the moment to hold a conversation. Getting to this house was pretty quick. Just as the truck stopped, I hopped out. I walked up to the door with Paul right behind me. Before I could even knock, a woman opened the door. She had long black hair and very tan skin. Three scars went down one side of her face and down her neck. Where they stopped, I couldn't tell, her shirt was covering them. Even with the scars, she was still a very beautiful woman. It was the same woman that helped me when I first got to town. "Hi there, you must be Ellie. It's nice to meet you again. I'm Emily, Sam's fiancé."

"Nice to meet you again too."

"Please, come on in."

Stepping right inside, I was hit with the smell of something cooking. It smelled really good.

As soon as we got to the dining room, there were all the face I had been before plus a few new ones. The ones I didn't know were all female. Emily introduced me to the girl. There was Claire, her niece, Kim who was Jared girlfriend, and Elizabeth, or Liz, who was Embry's girlfriend. They seemed nice enough. Claire though, she was something else. A little ball of energy.

Just as we got through with introductions, Jacob came in. Guess he just finished helping his dad with whatever he needed help with. He smirked in my direction. "So, Ellie...have fun during the car ride with Paul?"

"Really Jacob?"

I just stared at him. "Oh come on. You know..."

"For a matter of fact, we didn't talk in his truck. My mind was elsewhere thank you."

"Ellie, really, you don't seem the type to just be quiet."

"I have my moments."

"Ellie..."

"Jacob, you are like a brother already. But I swear to god, if you don't shut up, I will make you."

This time, he just stared at me in disbelief. "Don't make me do something I will regret."

I was really annoyed at this point. If he didn't shut up, I would get mad. And when I get mad, I can't always control _it_.

The tension went away as soon as Claire grabbed onto my leg. She looked up at me with those big brown eyes of hers. "Elwie...are you okay?"

"I'm fine sweetie," I said picking her up.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I like you."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I like you too Claire. You're a very pretty little girl."

"I not little. I a big girl." she said, getting out of my arms.

"A big girl indeed."

I just smiled as she ran over to Quil. Weird but cute little girl.

Things slowly went from there. While we were relaxing, Emily was doing some cooking in the kitchen and Sam was barbequing some meat on the grill. Out of all the girls, I liked Liz the most. She had a little bit of sarcasm but was really nice. I just seemed to connect with her a little bit more. As we sat and talked, I would occasionally look around the room. Again, just like at the cliffs, I would see Paul looking at me every once in a while. I just didn't get it. I wasn't sure why, after barely even knowing him, that we was staring at me like he cared. Something just didn't click.

We weren't waiting too long. After about 20 minutes or so, the food was done. Damn near shocked at the mass of how much was there. Seemed like there was enough to feed a small army or something. And the way that the guys ate, almost like they were part vacuum. There was a point where I starting laughing at it. A few of them gave me looks but not in a mean way.

After a while, I had to excuse myself to use the restroom. But walking back I stopped. I heard my name and wanted to see what they were saying. It was Paul that I heard first. "...want to get to know her first. She doesn't need to know yet."

"Paul," Jacob started, "do you think she even remembers the legends?"

"Maybe."

"But what if...

"Ouch! Stupid peice of..."

"Ellie."

I didn't even realize that I had been moving until I hit the damn table. "Piece of shit table!"

"Ellie," Emily said appearing in the doorway.. "Are you okay?"

"Walked into the damn table. My knees hurts quite a bit. I just need to sit down, and watch where I'm going."

She smiled as she helped me head back to the dining room and sit down.

Sitting, I could hear a few laughing. One more than the others. Paul. Damn it. Why'd it have to be him? "Paul, you are damn lucky I don't want to get up right now. If I did, I'd make you feel my pain. So, I suggest you shut up!"

"It's not just me Angel," he started with a chuckle sounding in his voice, "I'm not trying to be mean. You got to admit it is funny from another point of view."

"Paul...just shut up. I won't get up. Don't make me throw my plate at you."

"You wouldn't dare." he said seriously.

"Try me." I said with the same seriousness.

That plate was in my hand. I was ready to throw it if he decided to push the issue.

As I stared, I could feel the heat rising in the room. I knew I needed to stop but I couldn't. Not even with a few voices commenting on the heat, I couldn't. I had no idea how long we had been staring. All I knew was that Sam had started pulling Paul away after a while. It all simmered down then. Liz was the one who came over to me. "You okay?"

"I don't know what it is...but something about him gets to me."

"In a good way or bad?"

"Feels like both. I just can't explain it."

There was a knowing smile on her face. "Don't worry too much. You'll both get over it soon enough."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"I have a good feeling about this."

"If you say so."

I just shrugged. If things didn't change soon, then they probably wouldn't. I know I didn't need that stress of constantly fighting with Paul.


	5. First day of School

All the while, I was talking to them all. I got to know a bit more about all of them. I got along with all of them to a certain point. The only one I had issues with was Paul.

By the end of the night, things were well. Jacob was the one to take me home. He had his Rabbit. Hopping in, and driving away, he would look at me. I knew he wanted to say something. "Jacob...whatever it is that you want to say, just say it."

"I know you barely know him, but what is it that you have against Paul? He seems to be the only one that you seem to have a problem with."

"You want me to be completely honest?"

He nodded, all the while keeping his eyes on the road. "It was the first day I met him that started it. The way he looked at me."

"Did it bother you?"

"Not in the way you are implying. And that is what is bugging me. I didn't mind it."

"Why is that an issue?"

"Like I said before, I don't have many friends. I have fewer male friends then I do female. I tend to have more issues with guys because of what happened. You and the others are the rare exception to that. I don't know why, but I feel comfortable here, around you all, like I belong here. Like I'm being protected."

"Is the trust thing your issue with Paul?"

"...No. He seems like a good guy but with some not so good tendencies. I...never in my life have I ever felt like...felt _something_ towards someone so quickly, when I barely even know them. Then one thing popped in my head, something that was said the first day that I got here. He was a bit of a womanizer. I don't want to end up falling for him and it mean nothing. I deserve better than that."

"You do. And he wouldn't do that. Not to you."

"How can you say that?"

"I know him fairly well. Especially the side he puts out to everyone. Normally he gets a few calls every day. He answered them. Since he met you. He hasn't answered a single call."

"That can't just be because of me."

"It is."

"Again, how do you know that?"

"I...he...I want to tell you but I'm not the one to. He has to do it."

"Paul?"

"Paul."

I smiled lightly and turned to look out the window. It was a nice little chat but I didn't want to let anything else come out in the open. Not yet at least.

.

.

.

.

The next couple of days went by rather quickly. I was either helping Grandma around the house or again, hanging out with any one of the group. Liz had easily become my best friend from the area. Of course I still had my Sophia and no one could replace her. She was something else. A bundle of energy but at the same time, she could be so relaxed and calm. Sometimes she amazed me. She freaked out a little when I told her about the guys. Well jealous would be more the right term. It was so her to think of me being around a bunch of hot guys, of which a lot of them were taken anyway.

And then there was Paul. We never hung out alone, except if he was the one to pick me up to meet everyone. And when we were around each other, we still argued a little. I still couldn't explain why but I still felt this pull, this want of him. Yet the whole _womanizer_ thing that was mentioned was still emblazoned in my head. I wasn't ready to take any chances.

.

.

.

And then there was Monday. Time to start school. Oh yay! Not. So as I got showered and dressed, I could smell my grandma making breakfast. I quickly put on my jeans, my grey sneakers and a fitted red shirt that said, _It's not like I'm going to bite you...hard_. I had to have a little fun with it. It was my first day at a new school after all.

Once ready with my backpack, I went down stairs to the kitchen. Sitting at the dining room table, a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. Not too much but just enough to get me through till lunch. Grandma sat down. "Ready for school?"

"Not at all. Never am."

"At least you will know some people there."

"True. But that doesn't mean it will be a whole lot easier."

"It will help."

"I hope so."

"I know so."

I just smiled and continued eating my food. Thanking her for breakfast, I grabbed the keys to my truck and headed for school.

Driving to school was pretty simple. It wasn't too far and thankfully I didn't get lost. Pulling into the parking lot, I could already tell I was getting a few looks. When I got out, I got more. I was getting a lot of looks. Pretty much everyone turned to look at the new girl. No surprise there. What I was most thankful for was when I saw the guys. They didn't see me so I had an idea. Quietly, I ran up to them. But I didn't exactly stop. I jumped on someone's back. He jumped rather high and let out a small scream. I couldn't stop laughing. It was hilarious. So much so that I let go and fell to the ground. Turns out it was Jacob.

Everyone but Jacob was laughing. Even a few random people were staring. When I got up, Jacob was staring at me. "What? No one was paying attention. I had to do something."

"But on me?"

"You were the only one I could grab a hold of. You know you love it."

"Oh yeah, I so wanted you to jump on me."

I knew he was being sarcastic but I just smiled and hugged him.

There was a quiet moment from the guys. They looked to each other and then to me. They stayed looking at me for a moment. "Nice shirt."

Quil. "A biter huh?"

"Don't look too much into that. You'll never know anyways."

"Feisty. So you do bite?"

"When the occasion calls for it. Which coincidentally will never be with you."

"But you love me."

"Who said that?"

"You suck."

"Wouldn't you like to know."

A collective gasp from all of them. They surely didn't expect that. With a smile on my face, I began to walk to the front office.

The smile wouldn't go away, even while getting my schedule and locker info. I was pretty sure the lady thought I was a little weird. Didn't faze me at all. There was one little issue for me though. Almost as soon as I walked out the door, some jock dude went to put his arm around me. Before he could even try, I blocked it. "Dude, I don't know you."

"Ah, come on. The name's Marcus."

"Well _Marcus_, do NOT try that again."

"You were friendly with the La Push Gang earlier."

"One...they are not a gang. Two...I know them. And three...if you do not leave me alone already, you will regret it."

"You can't do shit to me. I own this school. I can..."

"Try it. Make me a fucking outcast. Been there, fucking done that."

Walking away, I noticed the eyes that were on us. Before I could get far, Marcus grabbed my arm. I spun around, wrenching me arm from his hand. "Don't you ever fucking touch me again you asshole. Don't even try. I can do more then you may give me credit for."

He tried it again. This time he didn't touch me. I knocked his arm away. Once again, he went to grab me. I did the same thing, except I pushed him away. He tried to punch me next. Not going to happen. I moved out of the way, punched him and then as he tried to come at me, I tripped him. "Don't you ever fucking come near me again. You do and things will be a whole lot worse for you. Get it?"

I didn't even give him time to respond. I just walked away to the first person I saw that I knew. Paul.

When I saw him, I felt like I wanted to cry. I could feel the tears welling up. Blinking more than necessary, I was trying to keep them at bay. I didn't care that Paul put an arm around my shoulder. I didn't care that he was the one to take me away from the crowd. Even though I was the one that did the damage, it just got to me. It brought back a memory that I didn't want to think about.

I couldn't focus on where we were going. All I knew what that I was out of the actually building and back in the parking lot when we stopped. "Ellie, Angel, are you okay?"

"Brought back a bad memory. I don't want to think about it."

He didn't let go. Actually, he held on tighter, wrapping both arms around me, my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beat. That steady rhythm was calming. Enough so that I was able to bring myself back to normal. "I'm okay now."

He just smiled, it suited him. This time we walked back in the school side by side. I didn't say a thing to him. And he said nothing to me.

Not a surprise where we went. To the rest of the guys. It was again quiet. Seems to happen a lot when I'm around. I was looking up at them all. "Why do you all have to be so freakishly tall? I actually feel short around you. And I'm not short."

"To us you are."

"Oh shut it Brady. Just because you have some super human tallness..."

I glared at him but then laughed playfully after he looked a little, uneasy. "So..." Colin started, "Did you really go after Marcus?"

"He tried to hit on me, and I handled it. He won't be bugging me again."

"Don't be so sure," Embry added, "He doesn't give up easy when he has a new _conquest_. When he wants something, or someone, he really goes for it."

"So I'm his next target?"

"Pretty much."

"_Great_. This guy is going to get on my nerves so very quickly."

After another silence, I grabbed all the schedule that the boys ad in their hands.

Time to compare. I had no classes with Brady, Collin, or Seth. I had first and Lunch with Jacob. First being P.E. I had first, fourth, and Lunch with Jared. Fourth being Pre Calculus. With Embry, I had first, fourth, Lunch and fifth; with fifth being English IV AP. Then there was Paul. I had every class with him except fourth and fifth period. At least I had someone in every class. So with Jacob, Jared, Embry and Paul, I was off to the gym.

In my first four classes, everything was relatively okay. I had to do some intros and all that good stuff. _So Much Fun_. Marcus wasn't in any of my classes at that point. But talk of our little meeting had already got around. A fair few tried to ask me about it. Two or three even said I seemed to have a temper just like Paul. If truth be told, I probably did. But none of it mattered.

Leaving Pre-Cal with Jared, a whole lot of people were still staring. Not only for being the new girl but for my incident with Marcus and for me hanging out with the 'La Push Gang'. That was going to get really old, really quick. I was talking with Jared as we walked. "So Paul was the first one you saw?"

"Yup. The instant I saw him, I just wanted to cry. A bad memory came back. He put an arm around me and walked with me to the parking lot. Once at his truck, he just held me. If it wasn't for him and listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. I would have had a breakdown."

"From the memory right?"

"Yup. Too much for me to handle."

Jared just smiled. "What?"

"It's just unusual."

"What do you mean?"

"Paul. He is never like that with girls. Something about you has got to him."

I was surprised. "I think he likes you. And I really mean that. No joke."

"I remember one thing about him, that I was told."

"That he was a bit of a womanizer?"

I nodded. "Truth is that he was. Keyword..._was_. He usually gets a few calls a day from girls who want him. Before, he would answer them. But since he met you, he hasn't answered a single call."

"But why would he do that? For me, no less?"

"Something about you got to him. I don't know what. But something did. Don't hold his past against him. That past is..."

"Just that...the past? I know. I want to be okay with him. But I don't know. For some reason, my mind can't get over that fact right now. I might. I'll try to but time is the key."

"Isn't it always."

"Thanks. For this talk I mean. I've talked to you. I've talked to Jacob. I don't know what it is about you guys. But normally I don't tell my feelings here. I feel like I can actually trust you. And the rest of the guys for that matter."

With a nod of his head, we stopped talking. We had arrived at the cafeteria.

Grabbing some food, we walked into the outside area, were the rest of the _gang_ was. Jared got there before I did. So I took the only available seat. Next to Paul. If I didn't know any better than I would figure they were trying to get us to get together or something. Not really that subtle, if you think about it. Random conversations were all it was. About classes, about the lunch itself, and just complete randomness.


	6. Pictures and Confrontation

Thanks Katara Melody Cullen, kiki(dot)lahote15 , and ozlady80 for reviewing this story so far.

As for your comment ozlady80 , I have a plan for Ellie, when it comes to the heat. The guys have their secret and she has one of her own. Only two other people in the story know about it. Can't let the secret out yet but it will be told sooner or later.

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Fifth period was nothing out of the ordinary either. Sat next to Embry. I was fine. But sixth period, art class, that was something...different. Walking in, I was a little bit late. I got a little lost trying to find my way. This caused everyone to look at me as I entered the room. "Sorry Mr. Canton. Got a little lost."

"Eleanor Monroe correct?"

"Yes sir. Call me Ellie though."

"Well, Ellie, today is okay, first day and all. Just remember for next time."

"No problem."

"Take a seat next to Mr. Lahote."

I just rolled my eyes as I began walking to the seat next to Paul. "I see you already know him."

"I know him and the rest of the guys. They've been my first friends here."

He just smiled and turned to the rest of the class as I sat down.

It took a moment before Mr. Canton began talking again. He wanted the class to have their attention on him, not me. "So...today, is a bit of a free draw day, within a category. That category is fantasy. Something not _real_. Could be a dragon, an elf, some sort of make believe character or creature. Take a page of paper from my desk and draw. Order in the line please."

I waited. As everyone went to get their paper, I waited. Not going to get caught in the rush.

Before I could get up to get it though, Paul brought not only his paper and pencil back, but one for me as well. I smiled. "Thanks."

"Any idea what you are going to draw?"

I smiled. "I have quite an idea."

Taking my pencil to the paper, I focused in on what I wanted to draw. I took no attention of Paul, of any of the other kids. All I knew was that I wanted to draw. My mind just closed off everything.

By the time I was done, class was almost done. Mr. Canton had began walking around the room, looking at what people had done. But when he stopped for mine, he was a little shocked. "Now what is this suppose to be?"

"I remember the legends my Grandma and mother told me, of the Quileute tribe. That we are descendants from wolves."

At this point, Paul was staring at me. Something in my words got to him. "When you told me _fantasy_ I remembered the legends. This is of one of the transformations. The man was running through the forest, phasing into his wolf self in mid stride."

"The clothes?"

"Well they can't exactly transform themselves so they rip to shreds."

Smiling, he grabbed my picture and showed it to the class. "Now this is something else. Taking a part of our culture and expressing it. Very well drawn. Like he wants to leap off the page."

He placed the picture back on my desk.

I could feel eyes on me as P carefully placed my drawing in my folder. I waited for him to speak. I wasn't going to start anything. "You remember the legends."

"Well, my Grandma is a Tribal Elder. She used to tell me about them all the time. With how she told them, I could never forget them. Or at least most of it."

"Do you think...that they could be real?"

He was nervous. I was making him sweat. Weirdly, it gave me a sense of satisfaction that I was causing his nervousness. "It's possible. Most legends are formed from some sort of truth right?"

He just nodded. This was interesting. He was holding something back, and I just wasn't sure of what it might be.

Thankfully though, art was the last class for the day. Walking to my car, a few girls were gathered by the car next to it. Not giving them any attention, I threw my stuck in my truck. "Hey you, new girl."

"Name's not new girl."

"Eleanor. That any better."

I turned around to face these girls. Three of them. "What do you want?"

"What the hell did you do to my boyfriend earlier?"

"You mean that asshole Marcus?"

She just glared. "Guess what girl? Your _boyfriend_ tried to hit on me."

"He wouldn't."

"From what I have gathered, he does, a lot. So either you are in denial or really are that stupid. Either way, you need to keep that _dog_ on a shorter leash."

That set something off.

For the second time in one day, someone wanted to hit me. Not such a good first day. She tried to slap me. Of all things, she tried to slap me. I knocked her arm away before she even had a chance. "Listen, you bitch. You have no right to talk to me, and certainly no right to slap me. You must have saw what I did to your _boyfriend_. Imagine what I could do to you if I really wanted to."

"You can't do shit t..."

"I can do whatever the fuck I want. Leave me alone and you won't get hurt."

She tried to punch me. I punched her first though. She stumbled backwards holding her nose. Blood was gushing out. "That's just the start. Try me again. And it'll be ten times worse."

Not bothering to wait any more, I got in my truck and headed home. A long day it was, that's for sure.

As soon as I got home, Grandma asked about my day. I told her about everything. When I mentioned about Paul and how he helped me, she just smiled. "Grandma, seriously, first Jacob and Jared and now you too. Everyone seems to be pushing me towards Paul. I've been told that he likes me, that he's changed since I met him."

"Well, he does like you and he has changed. He may not always show it but he is a good guy and He'll always have your best interests at heart. He just takes a while to warm up to _most_ people. You are special to him. Even if you don't see it yet."

I just smiled lightly and continued on with the rest of the conversation about my day. I told her about the girls before I mentioned about the picture. She just shook her head at that story. But I knew she was glad that I could stand my ground.

But when I showed her the picture, she just stared at it for a minute. It took her a few minutes to actually say something. "You did this?"

"Mr. Canton said that we had a free-draw day but within a certain category. Fantasy. I remembered the legends. And this is how I imagined them phasing."

"It's beautiful. Do you mind if I frame it and show it to the rest of the elders? I'm sure they would love it too."

"That'd be fine Grandma."

"Now," her serious tone appeared, "Go and do your homework before anything else."

"Love you too Grandma," I said standing up.

And I did just that. I went to my room and just did what I had to do.

But that night, I couldn't get to sleep. No matter how tired I got, I just couldn't fall asleep. My mind was restless and so was my body. So sitting down at my window, I opened it and just looked over the yard. It was beautiful. The moon peaked through the clouds and shown over the forest. Quite calming actually. Out of nowhere though, a howl pierced the night. A wolf's howl. Shocked me out of my state. Sounded close. Instinctively I looked around, to see if I could see anything nearby. Nothing.

Only a few minutes later did I see anything. Not a wolf, but eyes. A shining pair of seemingly gigantic eyes. Keeping my eyes on them, they didn't move. They stared right back. Slowly they moved, showing the body they belonged too. A dark silver wolf and a huge one at that. Like the size of a horse, maybe even bigger. It just looked at me. What I could see of it, this creature was beautiful. There was a howl off in the distance and suddenly the wolf was gone.

I couldn't help but smile as I closed my window and headed back to my bed. That wolf, there was something about it. I don't know what it was about it. Maybe the surroundings, maybe I was too the point of being tired. But after that, I felt calm and relaxed. Enough so that I feel asleep on my bed within a matter of moments.


	7. A Time to Talk

A couple of days had passed. Nothing Major had happened. It was raining a lot which wasn't unusual. It had come to be Friday. Even though I had my own car and was fully capable to drive myself, I was being picked up to head to Sam and Emily's place. On a couple times, it was Jacob. But more than likely it would be Paul. Sitting with Grandma in the living room, we were watching tv while talking. "Ellie, it's probably Paul picking you up huh?"

"Probably. I just don't get why someone has to pick me up. I'm more than capable of driving myself. I have a car."

"I'm not sure. I think that maybe they just feel safer knowing that someone is with you."

"I don't need protecting. You know that Grandma."

"Yes, I know that. But they don't."

"I guess, but at the same time it's going to get old. Especially with Paul sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

She seemed genuinely interested. "Even though it's only been a short time since I've meet him, he sometimes just gets to me. He likes to mess with me, tease me a little. I get him back but at the same time, it gets a little annoying. I think we are quite a like in that aspect. I seem to get on his nerves. He has a bit of a temper but mind you, so do I. He seems like a nice enough guy but I just don't know him."

"Then talk to him, sweetheart, get to know him."

"I would but when I try, he does these little things that just make me not want to."

"You just need to get past that."

"I..."

Ding-dong. There goes the doorbell. Giving Grandma a hug, I got up, grabbed my bag and headed to the door.

It was who we thought it would be. Paul. He stood against the door way with a smile on his face. Rain was coming down pretty hard. Just as I was about to leave, Grandma shouted, "If the weather gets too bad while you are gone, stay there. I don't want you or any of the guys taking any chances."

"Not a problem, Grandma."

"You too Paul."

"I promise."

Closing the door, I headed to Paul's truck.

Before I even got close to the truck, Paul was already there and he had opened my door for me. I was a little shocked to say the least but I accepted it graciously and said thank you. Starting the truck and heading out, Paul spoke. "We won't be going to Sam's right away. Emily asked if I could pick up a couple things before we got there."

I nodded. We were quiet for a while. I wanted to talk but I just didn't know what to say.

We didn't get too far before my cell phone rang. "Ellie!"

"Sophia...have you been drinking Mountain Dew again?"

"Maybe...anywho...what are you doing? I feel like I haven't talk to you in ages."

"It's been two days."

"But a long two days. So how's the whole Paul thing doing? Any better?"

"I actually just got picked up by Paul. We're stopping at the store before heading to Sam's place."

"I get it. I won't ask about that right now. But I will. You damn well better call me back and let me in on what's going on with you."

"I promise Sophia."

"All right then. Talk to you later. And I will."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I just shook my head as i put my phone away.

I could see Paul smile slightly. "Sophia?"

I nodded. "Sounds like a handful."

"She can be most of the time, but I still love her all the same. She's my best friend, like a sister. She understands me."

"I'm sure all of us here could too. If you let us. If you let me."

That didn't sound like the Paul I had got to know so far. But I liked the idea of his words. "I have tried with the others. With you I want to try, but when I actually try, you do something that irritates me. I want to get to know you, I really do. It's just..."

"That we clash sometimes?"

"Exactly."

"I'll try not to. I may not always do it right but I'll try."

"Thank you."

A silence followed but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. It was rather nice.

Once at the store, Paul went inside. I stayed within the truck. I didn't want to get wet unless I had too. Thankfully, he didn't take too long. I was ready to get to Sam and Emily's place. Heading down the main road, we were quiet. I wanted to talk to him, to get to know him, but i didn't know where to start. A comfortable yet straining silence. It wasn't long before the truck started to make a noise. Something wasn't right. My first thought was please let us get to Sam and Emily's. Just our luck, it died right there. Safely, Paul coasted the truck to the side of the road. "Damn it! You got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Such a mouth for girl you're age."

"You're not much better yourself sometimes. Any who...let's see if we can fix it or not."

"You know about cars?"

He honestly sounded shocked. "Obviously you didn...wait never mind that. It was Jacob I mentioned it to. My mother and I never had much money. When our vehicles broke down we couldn't afford to take it to get fixed. I had to learn. I'm not the best mechanic but I know my way around a car."

"Nice. A girl who can work on cars...kind of sexy."

He had this grin on his face. I couldn't help but smile as I blushed. I playfully pushed him as I said "Never mind my mechanical abilities, we need to check this truck."

Opening the door, even in the pouring rain, I jumped out as Paul popped the hood.

Almost as soon as I had it opened, Paul was right there with me. It didn't take long to figure out what the issue was. Only a few minutes. Not only was the battery cable frayed and pulled from its terminal, there was a hole in the radiator hose. Nothing we could fix right then. "Fuck. Stupid fucking rain. Stupid fucking truck."

"Come on Angel. We need to get back inside. I can't have you getting sick now."

I nodded and just like Paul said, I got back in the truck.

We couldn't just sit there and do nothing. I checked my cell phone. No reception. None for Paul either. "Why now? Of all times, why did the truck have to break down? We can't walk in this rain and we can't call anyone. This just sucks."

"Well we have to wait for the rain to stop. So why not pass the time."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Talk. You said you wanted to get to know me. And I want to know more about you. Why not start now."

"True."

"Well then, let me start it off. You said before you and your mother, what happened to your father?"

"He..."

This was a sore subject. I knew he should know but it was hard to talk about.

I was quiet for a minute. I wanted to tell him. But my body wasn't letting my mind. Only when I felt a hand on my shoulder, did I realize how cold I was.

Just as soon as he touched me, he wrapped and arm around me and pulled me closer. He wrapped his arms around me, surrounding me in a wall of warmth. "You feel like you're freezing."

"Well...with your body heat, I'm not surprised."

I laid my head against his chest, taking in more warmth.

After a moment, my body wanted to cooperate with me. "My...my father left me and my mother. When I was nine, he decided we weren't good enough. He didn't want us. He didn't love us. He just...he just left my mother to take care of me. I..."

"You don't have to say another word. I understand completely. My mother left me and my father when I was young too."

"Kind of funny how we seem to be brought together in a way. Weirdly coincidental."

"Definitely."

Our conversation didn't end there.

Through the warmth of his arms, we talked. I got to know him. And he got to know a bit about me. There was still something I hid from him. There was a big part of me that I wasn't ready to have him know. Not for a while anyways. We were in that truck for hours, just talking. But eventually, we...or well me, had gotten tired. The warmth from Paul, the beat of his heart, and the sound of his voice eventually brought me to sleep. I just felt so safe, so calm, relaxed, and even protected. As odd as I would have first found it, it just felt...right.

.

.

I wasn't sure how long we had been there, but when I woke up, I knew i was still in Paul's arms. The heat told me that. But what i didn't expect was that when I opened my eyes. We were no longer in the truck. We were in the spare room of Sam and Emily's house, though I was still in Paul's arms though. It worried me for a minute. How the hell did we get here? That's what I wanted to know. Just as I was starting to move around, I heard it. "Hey there Angel."

"How did we get here?"

"Sam knew something was up when we didn't show up or call. Him and a couple of the guys came out to see if they could find us. Sam saw my truck and us. So he picked us up and towed the truck back here. I just didn't want to wake you."

His smile was contagious. "Thank you. That nap was quite refreshing."

"Actually it was more then a nap. It's the morning."

That was a shock. Then it hit me. "Grandma!"

"Don't worry, she already knows. I called her when we got here. She knows you are safe. And...Emily is just finishing up breakfast. We can go eat."

"How did you..."

"I heard your stomach."

As much as I did not want to, I got up. Leaving his arms felt odd. Hiding that thought from him I headed to the kitchen.

Immediately upon my entrance, all eyes were on us. I smiled at Emily as she came towards me. "Come on, you must be hungry. I want you to grab something before the guys take it all."

"Emily, you are amazing. Really, you are."

She smiled. Taking her lead, I grabbed some food before sitting down.


	8. Feelings Arise

For a few days, things seemed to be going pretty well with myself and Paul. Of course we still had out moments but that was a given with me and him. It was just bound to happen.

So that following Wednesday, after school, I went with the guys and girls to the beach. I didn't feel like going in the water this time, so I sat with the girls while the boys went in. Liz was to my right, Kim to my left, Emily held Claire in front of us. We were all sitting on this huge blanket. It was quite nice. "So," Liz started, "when do we get to meet this Sophia you have told us about?"

"Well I graduate a week before she does, she is coming up to see me graduate and then I'm going to see her graduation. That one is a definite. But anything before that, there is no plan. I miss her though."

"You and her are close?"

"She's like a sister to me. She has helped me through a lot."

"Can't wait to meet her."

I turned to the water. It was days like this that made me think for but I brought my camera. While chatting with the girls, I took a few random pictures.

Our conversations went from one thing to another, almost randomly. But I could tell that there were a few times that they wanted to say something or add to a story were holding back. Usually it was at mention of the guys. The guys had a secret. That much I knew. But I wasn't going to push it. They must have a reason to withhold it from me. Sometimes secrets are better left unsaid. I know. I have my own secret.

"...and then he just slid across the floor. Too bad he didn't see the oil."

"I can see him do that perfectly. Would have loved to see Embry's face Liz."

"Yeah. I still love him though. I couldn't imagine being with anyone but him."

"Or Sam for me."

"Or Jared for me either."

"What about you? No boyfriends in Hesperia?"

"I've been single for a while now Liz."

"Ever have a boyfriend?"

"One."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But..."

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Did he... did he ever hurt or try to hurt you?"

"Once. And that was what ended it."

Through my words, she along with the others, knew not to push it anymore.

The girls continued to talk. I would put my two cents in every once in a while but mostly I just sat there. It was a nice day.

Paul and Jared were heading toward us. Before I knew it, Paul had picked me up. "Paul! Put me down!"

"Angel."

He started walking, towards the water. "I swear to fucking god Paul, you throw me in the water and you will regret it. Don't even try!"

"Oh come on Angel. The water isn't bad."

"Not for you and your freakish body heat. I swear you better fucking put me down."

He just smiled. His legs were ankle deep in water. And he dropped me. I landed in a crouched position, splashing my whole body with water.

That was it. I looked at him like I wanted to kill him, which I very well did. Standing up, I walked passed him, pushing him in the process. That was pushing it. "Angel."

I did not answer him. No way did I want to talk to him after that. I did not want my secret coming out at this point. "Angel."

Still, I did not answer. "Angel!"

"What Paul? WHAT?"

"Angel."

"You dropped me in the water! I told you to damn well put me down but no! You decided to be an ass and still put me in the water."

"I was only joking around. I..."

"Paul, I don't care. I told you no and you didn't fucking listen. I just don't care. I'm done talking to you right now."

"Angel, please."

He sounded sorry. He didn't want me mad at him. "Paul. I said 'right now.' Maybe in a few days, I'll talk. But now...I'm fucking done."

I didn't stop walking. I grabbed my camera and headed to my car. With a quick goodbye to everyone else, I was driving. Before I got too far, I had seen Sam slap Paul in the back of the head. I chuckled as I got out of sight.

I was mad. I wanted to hate him, to not want to talk to him ever again. But at the same time, I couldn't force myself to go through with it. I was mad at him, but I couldn't hate him. Grandma was surprised when I came home early. "Ellie, what happened?"

"One word...Paul."

"Tell me about it."

I explained to her the situation. "It's just Paul, sweetheart. He was playing around."

"That at the beginning I get. But that doesn't matter. It was the fact that he dropped me in water after I told him no. He just doesn't always listen."

"Or maybe he's just trying to get your attention. I think he likes you. Being around you and trying to get your attention is just different for him. He wants to be with you and he's just not sure how to act."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've known these boys for what seems like forever. I know what Paul is like. I know how he acts. He just wants your attention."

"He'd get more of my attention if he didn't act like today all the time. It would be nice if he just talked to me or just hung out like I have with the other guys. I don't mind that we have had heated discussions. But when he acts like that it makes me mad."

"I'm sure he'll learn. He just needs some time."

"We'll see."

I wasn't in the mood to talk much more so I just went to my room. I needed to just relax and try to forget about the incident.

.

.

.

Time seemed to pass quite quickly. All of the guys, except Paul, had become like brothers. They were just so friendly and awesome to hang out with. They felt like real brothers. The girls were awesome too. Liz had become my best friend there. I knew her and Sophia would get along great. Then there was one big issue.

Paul. We got on each other's nerves but we weren't arguing as much as we did. Throughout the process of getting to know him, something happened. I started to like him. I felt strangely pulled to him. There was something about him that I just couldn't put my finger on. Even though I admitted to myself that I liked him, didn't mean I was ready to admit it to him. I was scared. I knew that he had 'changed' from what I was first told about him, but at the same time I was afraid that if I let myself really fall for him, I would end up getting hurt.

.

.

.

Three weeks had passed since I had moved to La Push. I loved the guys, the girls. I loved this place so far. There was nowhere else I could imagine being. I talked to my mom a few times. she was busy with work but she tried. I understood where she was coming from. She was trying to provide for me. I was thankful that she was trying. Paul was still there. The small pull I felt to him before was nothing compared to now. It was a whole lot stronger. I knew whenever he was near without even seeing him. He had a calming touch. I wanted him. I really did. But it was really hard to admit that to myself yet alone to say that to him.

.

Sitting at lunch, as became a custom, I was in between Paul and Jared. Random conversations. Weirdness. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Until about halfway through lunch. Some blonde-haired, blue eyes, chick came up and stood on the end next to Paul. "Paul."

"Marianne."

His voice was flat, uninterested. "I'm back from visiting my family in New York. I missed you while I was gone."

The flirty-ness, the desperateness in her voice was so apparent. "So."

"I was wondering if you wanted to get together, you know...have some _fun._"

That got to me. She was desperate. I wanted to hurt her. She was trying to take him away. He was mine. _**Oh crap**_. I was jealous. Paul wasn't even mine and I was jealous. "Not going to happen, Marianne. I've changed. I don't do that anymore."

"I've been gone a month. I really need some time with you."

"I told you. Not going to happen. As a matter of fact, lose my number."

"But Paulie..."

She tried giving those puppy dog eyes. She even laid a hand _gently_ on his arm. As much as I didn't want to admit it, my jealousy was getting the best of me. I wasn't going to be around that. I couldn't. So I stood up, grabbed my things and turned to her just as she was trying the whole '_Paulie_' thing again. "Girl, seriously, he said no. Get the hint."

"And who are you?"

"Well miss snotty attitude, I am a friend of his. So, if he says no he means no. Now...I'm sick of listening to your insistent cries of desperate attention. You want sex, we get that. Don't throw yourself out there, especially when he already said no."

Ignoring her and the rest of the guys and girls for that matter, I walked off. I didn't need to see that.

I only stopped moving when I found myself in a corner of the school. I went to sit down, but Paul was right there. He gently placed his hands on my shoulders. "Ellie, Angel...are you okay?"

"Must you insist on calling me that?"

"Yes. But you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"

"I..."

I wanted to tell him. I wanted to say that I was jealous and that was why I walked away. But I couldn't. I didn't want him to know. Not yet. "Ellie, please, are you okay?"

"Not exactly."

"Ellie..."

"I don't know what to say Paul. I just don't know."

"Please..."

"I can't. I want to tell you, but I can't. I just can't."

I walked away. Even thought I didn't want too, I had to. As much as I wanted to be near him, I just couldn't.

Fifth period was okay. We were just working on work in partners. I was with Embry of course. But almost the entire time, Embry was trying to talk to me about Paul, about what happened. "Ellie...come on. If you keep holding it back, it's just going to explode. You were jealous."

"So what if I was?"

"Then why did you walk away from Paul?"

"Because..."

"Ellie..."

"I...I'm scared."

That was the truth. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know how things with Paul would go. I was afraid I would get hurt. "He would never purposely hurt you. He cares about you too. You just need to let go, to take that chance. You two work well together. Just push past whatever issues you have. You take chances anyways. Take a chance on this."

I wanted to speak. But his words were trying to sink in. For the rest of the class I couldn't even focus on the work.

Art class was nerve wrecking for me. Paul was still sitting next to me as usual. The only good thing was that we were all giving things to do and my focus was on that. I could feel his attention on me. I could feel him next to me, though I never looked at him. I felt the heat radiating from his body. First thought was to move closer, to hug him, to do something. But my mind was not allowing me to do so.

Instantly, I was gone. As soon as the bell rang, I was to my truck and on the way home to my Grandma. She knew something was up as soon as I came in. She smiled, hugged me and lead to sit on the sofa. "Ellie. Talk to me. What's wrong?"

And I explained to her all that happened. She listened, taking everything in. "Ellie, sweetheart. Talk to him. Nothing has to happen. Just talk to him, let him know how you feel. Try and sort things out. If something happens then great, if not then it wasn't meant to. Just try."

"But I'm..."

"Afraid? I know. But life is about taking chances. If your mother never took the chance of getting that job, you wouldn't be here. If I never took the chance to fall for your grandpa, you wouldn't be alive. You have to take a chance to get something out of it. Taking no risks means things will stay the same."

"I..."

She was right. Embry said something similar but it just didn't hit until now. Having her tell me helped a bit as well. It just cemented the idea of what the truth was. "Go. Go to Sam and Emily's. He'll probably be there."

"Grandma."

"Ellie. Just go talk to him."

Leaving all but my wallet and cell phone, I grabbed my keys and left. If nothing happened then nothing happened but I at least had to talk to him.

Not a long distance but it did seem to take a while. The mental aspect, the constant thinking, is what made it seem like forever. Answering the door, Emily was surprised to see me. "Ellie, how are you? I didn't expect to see you today."

"I didn't expect to be here either. I need to talk to Paul, and this is the first place I'm checking."

"He's here. Let me get him. Come on in."

"Thank you Emily."

She gave me a smile and walked off to find Paul. When she found him, I heard. "Paul...you have a guest."

"Emily I don't think I..."

"Trust me on this one. You will want to talk."

A moment later, Paul came into the hallway. A look of shock came over him when he saw me.

I just walked outside, with him behind me. We stood there for a moment. I just didn't know what to say. "Ellie."

"Paul, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For walking away. I was just scared."

"You have no reason to be scared."

"I realize that now. Talking to Embry and Grandma helped. I'm still a little scared. But if I don't take the chance, I will regret it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you want to know why I left at lunch? I was jealous. Truly and honestly jealous. I didn't want her touching you. And the way she was speaking was too much for me to handle. I like you Paul, more than I wanted to admit at first. But I..."

I didn't stop myself. He kissed me. He just grabbed my cheeks and kissed me. Soft, sweet, gentle, short. But in that kiss I felt it. Passion, caring, everything. When he pulled away, I wasn't having it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. The touch of his lips on mine made me shiver. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me closer. I molded to him, like I was meant to be there. It felt...right. We struggled for dominance. Both of us wanted to be in control.

We had to stop though. Air was definitely needed. Smiling, I put my head against his chest, listening to his racing heart. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"I'm glad we finally did Paul."

"So...be my girl?"

"On one condition."

He pulled back just enough so he could see my face. "Yeah? And what is that?"

"If you let me kick Marianne's ass if she tries to talk to you or touch you again."

He just laughed. "I would love to see that. I'll take it."

Leaning on my tip-toes, I kissed him one more time.

This time we were interrupted. By clapping and whistling. All the guys were right there, as was Kim, Liz, and Emily. I couldn't help but bury my head in his chest and hide the blush that crept upon my cheeks. "Angel..."

"Yes?"

"Let's head inside for a moment."

I just nodded and let him guide me inside.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**_Yay! Paul And Ellie finally got together! Woohoo! *does little dance* Things are finally moving along. and I want to mention something. I'm not sure if any of you got this or not but this story is set within the time of Eclipse. I'm pretty sure I didn't mention that. But now you know. And another small note (I know, I'm full of them today) Thank you to those of you who have supported this story so far. I really do appreciate it. It really is nice to know what people think. Anywho...I might not be able to update for a little bit. My work schedule is a little hectic at the mmoment and I have some family events coming up. But I will update as soon as I can._**


	9. Marianne and Meeting Bella

Stepping into the house, I smiled. Emily offered for me to stay for dinner. I had to decline. "I would love to stay but I do have homework I need to finish."

"If you're sure."

"Thanks, but I can't. I just really needed to talk to Paul."

"You did more than just talk."

"Embry...shut up! I'm sure you and Liz have done more than that."

He shut up and both of them blushed. I got him.

Everyone headed further into the house. The only one not to go into the living room was Paul. He stood there with me for a moment. I really wanted to stay there but I knew I couldn't. "I got to go home Paul."

"No, you don't."

"You know Grandma. Yes, I do."

He shuttered. "Yeah, don't want to get on her bad side."

"Exactly. So...I will see you at school tomorrow. Homework must be finished."

He leaned down and gave me one last kiss before I left. I wanted to stay. My knees went weak. Pulling away reluctantly, I gave him one last squeeze before headed to my truck. Even as I drove off, I saw Paul watching me with a smile in his face. A smile that matched my own.

Once home, I did the only thing I knew I had to. I found Grandma. She just smiled. she knew. I hugged her. I just threw my arms around her and hugged her. "Something happened."

I nodded, still smiling. "Guessing by the look on your face, he kissed you and you are now together?"

"Yeah."

"Told you. Now, he best be on his best behavior. I don't want to have to go after him now."

"He'll be okay."

"I know."

She just smirked again. "Now, my dear, you must do your homework."

Shaking my head, I smiled still and went up to my room.

.

.

.

The next morning was good. I woke up knowing the prior day's events were real. I was happy. As much as I knew there would be issues in our relationship, I was happy that I was with Paul. I knew my happiness was radiating. Grandma could feel it as I ate. I'm sure the feeling would lessen a little but I knew I would stay happy, for the most part.

Getting out of my truck, I started walking towards the usual space where I knew the guys would be. I didn't have a chance. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist, making me jump. Turning around in those arms, I attempted to hit him. Didn't do any good. Damn Paul and his body like a freaking rock. I actually hurt my left hand. Taking a step back, I held my sore hand. "Ellie," he said taking my hand in is, "You should know by now. Hitting me never works well for you."

"Yeah, well, not like I expected _someone_ to grab a hold of me."

"You love it."

"I would only if you hadn't made me hurt myself."

"Angel."

"Paul."

Still holding my hand, he kissed me. "Grrr, you, just grr."

Putting an arm around my shoulder, we walked off to find the rest of the guys.

Didn't get too far though. Just as we almost reached the spot, _Marianne_ decided to show up. As soon as she saw Paul, she came rushing over. "Paul!"

Her voice was as it was yesterday. Annoying. "Hey Paul. I was wondering if you changed your mind. We can still have some fun. I really did miss you."

She went to put her hand on him. I moved in front of him. "He said no yesterday. He'll say no today. And he will say no every day you ask him. Get it through your thick head. Not going to happen."

"I didn't ask you. I asked him."

"Listen you stupid little whore, he will never go with you ever again."

"What have you got to do with it?"

I smirked. "All you want is sex. Everyone knows that. This..." I said grabbing Paul below the belt but over the jeans, "Isn't yours. He...all of him, heart, soul, and body, including his penis, is mine. And ONLY mine. So I suggest you leave MY BOYFRIEND alone, or I will be forced to make you."

Paul was in shock. Not so much from my words but from my actions. Marianne, and the audience that we had gathered, were surprised too. She was also scared. I was pissed and as the saying goes, _if looks could kill_.

Defeated, Marianne left. I turned to the audience, all of which were still just standing there and staring. "Guess what? Show's over. Pay attention to something else."

Most did, which was good enough for me. I grabbed Paul's hand headed around the corner. But I didn't get a chance to go far...again. Paul grabbed both my arms and pushed me against the wall, kissing me in the process.

Instinctually I kissed back, my arms wrapping around his neck. Such passion, such...lust. He gently bit down on mu bottom lip, caused a small moan to escape. that speeded up his movement and to move his hands to my lower back. I was pulled into him, feeling every muscle, every inch of him my body could. So much was being put into this kiss, this moment. As much as I wanted to continue, I needed to breathe.

He laid his forehead against mine, both of us catching our breaths. The look in his eyes was something I had never seen before, something I never thought I would see. Caring. It almost seemed like love. "Ellie...you are something else."

"I know."

He just chuckled. "What you did back there, caught me off-guard. But it was so damn...sexy. I..."

"It turned you on."

"I've never had someone stand up for me like that. Such passion."

"You are mine. She has no right coming onto you like that. No one does."

"Except you."

"Except me."

One more kiss. That's what he gave me.

But this time we were interrupted. The _'gang'_ was about ten feet away, clapping and whistling. As hard as I tried not to, I couldn't help but blush. Liz stepped forward. "Nice show. We've been here since Marianne first came up. A little frisky are we Paul?"

A small growl escaped his throat. It surprised me. "Paul," I spoke softly.

He looked down to me. His face softened. "Sorry about that Liz."

"No problem, Paul. Now, my fine fellows and females, bell's going to ring."

As if on cue, the bell did ring. With Paul's arms still wrapped around me, I walked. We all headed out to our first classes.

.

.

.

All the rest of the day, things were good. No issues from anyone. A few looks here and there but no one tried anything. I was most glad to get out at the end of the day though. Being that it was now a Friday, I was ready to relax at the weekend. Walking with Paul to the parking lot, we met up with everyone else. For a few minutes, we all just stood by Paul's truck. "So my dear friends," I began, "What are the plans for the weekend?"

"Well," Paul started, "The Elders are having a bonfire tomorrow night, to tell the legends. All of us are going."

"That sounds fun. It would be nice to hear them again."

"Come with us. You're Grandma is an Elder. It won't be an issue."

"I'd love to."

"I'll pick you up at 7."

"Sounds good to me."

For a few more minutes we all talked. Once the crowd of cars had dwindled down, I headed out. But not without one more kiss from Paul.

.

.

The rest of the night was pretty normal. I finished homework, I ate dinner. Basic stuff. But I got bored. I sat on my bed, with my knees bent. A sketch pad lay on my thighs, pencils and erasers lay on the bed itself. I got an idea and I ran with it. I knew I would give the picture away when I was done with it. But before it could get to that stage, it would have to be perfect. Each stroke of the pencil, each shadow, each line; all of it.

I didn't know what possessed me, but something did. Seemingly the entire night I worked on that sketch. Stopping, starting, erasing, re-doing. All of that, I did. There was an image in my mind of what I wanted it to look like. I wasn't settling for anything other than what I saw. I fell asleep before I finished it that night. but I knew I would finish it quickly.

.

.

"WAKE UP!"

Urgh! she just had to yell. I was quiet comfortable. "Grandma! what the hell?"

"It's nearly noon. I made lunch. By the way, I saw the start of your picture. Very good so far. He will love it."

"Grandma."

"Now get up and come and eat. You have to be prepared for the bonfire tonight."

"By the way, why did you tell me about that? You know I would have loved to come."

"Yes I did, but I had a feeling you would like it more if Paul was the one to ask you. And yes, I know, I am some kind of psychic, am I right?"

"It sure seems like it sometimes," I said slowly shaking my head.

So with her pushing I got up and went downstairs for breakfast.

After eating and taking a shower. I went back in my room for a moment. but it was only to grab my picture, my pencils, and my MP3 player. I wanted to work on more of it before Paul came over to pick me up. I wanted it to be perfect. I had nothing else to do so why not. Turning on my MP3 player, I drew. Half the time, I had no idea what was playing. My focus and attention was what my hands were doing. If any sort of alarm were to go off, I wouldn't know. The house could have been on fire and I wouldn't have noticed.

.

Just as I finished, I heard a vehicle pulling up to the house. Looking at the clock, I knew it had to be Paul. I grabbed my things and quickly ran to my room. Just because I was done with the picture didn't mean I was ready to show him. Quickly, I grabbed my phone, my wallet, my keys, and a jacket. Just as my feet touched the ground floor, Grandma was letting Paul into the house. "You bring her back safely Paul."

He nodded. She was giving that don't mess with my family look. "I would never."

That was when they noticed me. "You ready to go?" Paul asked.

"Boy, I wouldn't be down here if I wasn't ready."

"Did you need a ride Mrs. Monroe?"

"No. I'm fine Paul. And you know to call me Grandma like everyone else does."

He nodded as we headed out.

.

.

The bonfire was set up not too far away actually. Jacob was the first person that I saw. There was a brown haired girl with him. "Ellie, this is Bella. Bella, this is Eleanor Monroe, but we all call her Ellie."

She seemed a little shy. Paul just stared at her. A small growl escaped him. I turned to him and slapped him on the back of the head. "Paul."

"Ellie."

"Be nice."

"But she's a le..."

"Paul!"

He rolled his eyes, but he did stay quiet. "Sorry about Paul there."

"It's okay. We don't have the best history."

"Doesn't give him an excuse. Nice meeting you Bella."

"Nice to meet you too Ellie."

Jacob and Bella moved on.

But I turned to Paul before we could walk anywhere. my arms were crossed and I was starting at him. He was an ass. "Paul, what was that about?"

"Angel."

I just stared at him. I wanted to know what was going on. "It's just something that happened a little while ago. It was to do with the _people_ that she was hanging out with."

I knew there was more behind it but it was a good enough answer for now.


	10. Telling of the Legends

_**It's been a little bit, I know. But now you get another one. YAY! I'm in a hyper mood even though I'm not over my cold yet. Anywho...here you go.**_

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Walking around, we bumped into the whole gang. After a little while, Grandma arrived with a man in a wheel chair. I assumed it was Jacob's dad as he as talked about him before. Grandma noticed us and come towards us with the man. "Ellie, this is..."

"Jacob's Dad right?"

"Talks about me huh?" he said with a smile on his face.

"I don't know how you can put up with that boy sometimes."

"You learn to live with it," he said with a laugh, "But he is good with helping me around the house. He is a good kid. And please, call me Billy."

"I can tell. Just a little...annoying at times. And sure...Billy."

"I saw the picture you drew. It was amazing."

"Thank you Billy."

"The other Elders and myself were wondering if you might be able to draw a few more pictures? you know, to do with our histories and our legends?"

"I would love to."

"Ellie," Grandma started, "Would you like to meet Sue Clearwater and Old Quil before the legends get started?"

"I'd like that."

We walked, again.

It was nice meeting them, though a little awkward for a moment. When I shook Old Quil's hand, he looked at me. Not in a mean or disgusted, or bad way in any means. But in a way like he could see something, see what I was hiding. I stared back like I had no idea what he was doing but in reality, I was a little scared. No one needed to know about that yet. Grandma knew and so did my mother but that was it.

Getting away from the Elders, Paul and myself found a seat on a log. Paul was to my right and Seth ended up being on my left. And so it started. Billy had gotten out attention. "The Quileute's have been a small people from the beginning. And we are a small people still, but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood. It wasn't always the magic of shape-shifting—that came later. First, we were spirit warriors."

Closing my eyes, I began to picture it as he spoke. "In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbor and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish…"

His words dissolved. I no longer heard them. Instead, I saw it. The cliffs, the people, everything. It was all in his words.

.

.

.

"…numbers have forced a larger pack than the tribe has ever seen. Except, of course, in Taha Aki's Time. And so the sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice their fathers endured before them."

Hearing the last words, I took a few deep breathes. Chills ran through me while listening. It was amazing to hear them in their entirety once again. Opening my eyes, I looked to Paul. He looked proud. He looked happy to hear the legends again. When he notice I was looking at him, he actually smiled at me. I smiled right back.

After a moment, Sue invited us to grab some food, with the guest first. Quickly I grabbed a burger, some potato salad, beans, and some water. Sitting down in the same spot I was in during the telling of the legends, I began eating as the others grabbed their food. Good food. From what I gathered, it was made by Emily and Sue.

Once both Paul and Seth had sat down with their mountains of food, we were talking. Though I tried to not talk with my mouth full, unlike the guys. "So what did you think of hearing them again?"

"Seth...it was amazing. It was like I was right there. Absolutely amazing."

"Can you imagine if they were real?"

There was a slight twinkle in his eyes. He looked cute, so innocent and youthful . "It'd be crazy."

Something felt off for a moment. I looked to Paul to see him glaring at Seth. "Be nice mister. He's just trying to be friendly."

"But he..."

"No buts Paul."

"He almost..."

There was a silence. "He almost what Paul?"

"It's nothing."

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have reacted."

"Angel..."

"Paul."

"It's just that you..."

"What about me?"

This was going nowhere good. I could feel it. "It's not about you in particular. It's more about...about something that you haven't been told."

"You know what? I need a minute. I'll be right back."

I didn't listen to anything else said. I just got up and walked away for a moment. I knew if I stayed, I would get more annoyed and mad. A moment was really what I needed.

.

Ignoring the looks, ignoring Paul calling my name and following me, I headed into the forest. A few moments in and Paul was still following me. "Ellie."

I needed that moment and he wasn't getting the hint."Ellie, please."

"Please what, Paul?" I said stopping in my tracks.

"It was just about what you weren't told yet. It's not abo..."

"What is it Paul? Really? You are my boyfriend. I should be able to trust you and you should be able to trust me. You aren't telling me something, something that I can tell is a big thing. Do you trust me or not?"

"It's not about trust. Of course I trust you. It was just never the right time to tell you."

"What about now? Can you tell me now?"

"I..."

"Paul! Ellie! What's going on? Are you guys okay?"

"Embry...I...never mind. I'm just going to go."

I wanted to cry. I may not have been with him for that long but that doesn't mean he should keep something from me. I know all people have secrets, I know I do. But what is so important that he has to keep it from me? Was it going to hurt me?

Walking away, I felt torn. I wanted to stay and talk to him. I wanted to fix things, to make sure that we were okay, but at the same time I was annoyed. My worst secret was big. Insanely huge. That was why I kept it from him. But what was his secret? I could hear Embry talk to Paul as I walked. "You can't let her go Paul. Whatever the issue is, don't let her slip through your fingers. You know what happened to me when I almost lost Liz. You can't let that happen to you."

"I know that Embry." Paul said in a harsh tone.

"Don't take it out on me man."

I turned around for just a split second and that was when I saw it.

Paul was visibly shaking. Before I could even do or say anything, the shaking became violent and within a split second, Paul was no longer standing there. A giant wolf was. The same dark silver wolf I had seen on the night of my first day of school. To say I was shocked was an understatement. But when Embry literally exploded like Paul did and a gray wolf took his place, I was completely and utterly stunned. I literally couldn't move. The two wolves were growling at each other. I didn't have a chance to stay. A hand laid on my shoulder and turned me around. Sam picked me up and carried me off. I had no idea where he was taking me. All I could do was picture Paul and Embry exploding into wolves. It was emblazoned in my mind.

When we stopped, Sam had set me down on a chair. Looking around, I realized I was in his kitchen. I didn't know what to do, what to say. My mind was all over the place. Paul and Embry turned into giant wolves. Which also meant that the other guys had too as well. Apparently the legends are true. It wasn't that I didn't believe it. I had to, seeing it firsthand. It really wasn't that hard to believe. I knew vampires were real a long time ago so the legends weren't much of a stretch. It just seemed so surreal.

"Ellie! ELLIE!"

Coming out of my thoughts, all of them were there. All the guys were there. How could I have not noticed them? I titled my head as I stared at them. "Ellie, are you okay?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "Are you sure?"

Again, I nodded. "You're afraid aren't you?"

I shook my head. "I just saw Paul change into a giant wolf because Embry had interrupted our 'fight'. Shocked as all hell is more like it."

"But you believe it?"

"It isn't hard to believe when you've met a vampire before."

Silence and shock from all of them.

But only a moment later and the shock had worn off. Paul was shaking and growling. He was angry, upset. "When? Where? And why didn't you tell us?"

"Well, Paul...common sense...I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE FUCKING WOLVES! How about that? And for your information, it was a few years ago, in Hesperia. Long before I met any of you."

Paul was still shaking but Sam was staring him down. After a moment he was calm. Sam turned back to me. "How did you survive?"

"I..."

I didn't want to tell them. I wasn't ready for them to know yet. "Something bad happened didn't it, Ellie?"

I nodded. "Will you tell us?"

"Eventually. It's just not something I'm ready to share quite yet. Only my mother and Grandma know. I have never told a single soul other than them."

"I understand. We all do."

"So..." Emily started, "Anyone want a muffin?"

That certainly got their attention away from me for a while.

Grabbing one of Emily's legendary muffins, I ignored the call of the guys and went outside. Sitting at the table on the porch, I began eating. As much as I loved these guys, I needed my space for a little bit. I accepted it. I accepted them. My mind was just putting together every bit of information I had. Shortly after I had finished my food, Paul came out and sat down next to me. He said nothing.

He just sat in silence with me. The longer he sat there, the more I felt I needed to talk to him. There were a couple of things I needed to know from him and him alone. He was my boyfriend after all. "Paul?"

"Yes?"

"Will you walk with me?"

He nodded. With both of us standing, we walked slowly into the woods nearby.

All the while, I had no idea of where to begin. There was so much that I needed to know. Quite a bit was weighing on my mind. "Ellie...what's wrong?"

"I...how come you never told me about the wolf thing? Or any of you for that matter?"

"It was my job to tell you. I never expected to have you find out like that. I was going to tell you after the bonfire, where Jacob's Dad was going to tell the legends. But then you walked away. I..."

"There's more to it than just you turning into a giant wolf, isn't there?"

He nodded and stopped walking. "I...I don't know how much you remember about the legends but there is this thing...it's suppose to be rare but it doesn't seem like it anymore. It's called imprinting."

"Imprinting?"

"It's where a wolf sees her. The moment he sees her, nothing else matters. All ties are broken. No one else truly matters. Gravity no longer hold the wolf to the earth. She does. It's like love at first sight, but so much stronger."

"I...sounds like...like you know from experience."

He nodded.

Only then did it hit me. He imprinted on someone. "Paul...why?"

"Why what Angel?"

"If you knew you were going to imprint, why start something with me? I'd only get hurt when you found her. I can..."

"Angel...yes I imprinted. But I imprinted on you. The moment I met you, I knew you were the one."

"But you...I...it tells you to love me. You don't have a choice in it do you? You are forced to love me."

"No, I'm not. I do have a choice. The imprint shows us the only choice that matters. We are made for each other."

"So is the imprint the reason that I feel such a pull to you? That I can't truly be mad at you even if I tried?"

He nodded. I couldn't get it through my head. My mind kept going back to the idea that I had no choice. I wanted to hate Paul. I wanted to hate the imprint. I just didn't know what to think. So I did the only thing I could think of. I ran. I didn't want to hurt Paul but I couldn't think with him there.

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_**She finally knows... Oh my goodness. And she knows about the imprint. How will she fully react? What will happen? Only I know...mwuahahahaha! ;D**_

_**Until next time my fellow fan-fiction-ers, I bid you adieu.**_


	11. Instinctive Reaction

Waking up in the morning was nice. My mind was refreshed. I felt okay. That was until I remembered what had happened the night before. Not a good thing. He imprinted on me. He didn't have a choice. I didn't have a choice. "Ellie!"

So what. Grandma was calling me. I just didn't want to get up. "Ellie!"

Still I ignored it. That is until she came walking in my room. "Eleanor Isolde Monroe! Get up already. It's just after Noon."

"I don't want to."

"Eleanor."

"Grandma, I don't _want_ to."

"You can't sit up here all day and do nothing."

"He imprinted on me. I...don't I have a choice in this?"

"You like him don't you? There is something there."

"But do I have a choice? Why must _fate_ choose this for me?"

"You two would have gotten together eventually if there was no imprinting. It just would have taken longer. You two are made for each other. Don't think of imprinting taking away your choice. Think of it as fate pushing you in the right directions; that it gives you the only choice that matters."

I could feel there was something to her words. I knew that in my heart but at the same time, my head was telling me no. There was a battle raging and I had no idea what side was going to win.

.

That day was a blur. I didn't do much. I stayed inside the house. I didn't answer any phone calls. Nothing. Just absolutely nothing. I couldn't force myself to do anything. I just...my mind was in anguish. It caused me to not physically be able to do anything. It was draining.

.

.

.

.

School was not going to be okay. I couldn't face Paul, or any of them for that matter. I got to school just on time. Didn't see the guys, didn't even bother to try. First period was horrible. Sitting next to Paul was excruciatingly painful. I was barely able to pay attention. On occasion I would see the look on his face. He looked as bad as I felt. My heart felt weak, my whole body did for that matter. I wasn't sure why but I was. I couldn't force myself out of this funk.

The rest of my classes weren't any better. I couldn't face the boys no matter how hard I tried. Lunch was even worse. Instead of eating with them, I grabbed my food and went into one of the outside hallways. I needed to be alone. Sitting against a pillar, I slowly began eating. I wasn't that hungry but I knew I needed to eat something.

I was doing okay. That was until I heard some voices coming towards me. It was Michael, Jenna, and a few of their friends. I tried to make myself as invisible as possible. Didn't exactly work though. They came straight for me. I continued to eat as they reached me. Before I knew it, a foot came up and kicked my tray from my hands.

It was Marcus. Of course it had to be him. With a sigh, I actually spoke. "I thought you would have learned your lesson before Marcus."

"Not at all. I was just waiting for the right time. So not sitting with your _boyfriend_ and his little gang? Having some issues are we?"

At this point, I stood up. "Did he find someone else and fuck them like he usually does?"

He crossed the line at that point. I moved and stared him straight in the eyes. "Fuck you! You know absolutely knowing about this. Leave me the hell alone and go fuck yourself. Or your blonde bimbo bitch of a girlfriend for that matter."

"You little..."

"Bitch? I know. I get that quite a bit. But I accept that. Now...just leave. then we'll all go on with our lives. Simple as that."

"Not after you insulted my girlfriend."

"You started it. You continue it and I will be the one to finish it."

"Is that a threat?"

"No...it's a promise."

I didn't have a chance to respond before I was pushed back into the wall.

A soreness radiated throughout my body. I may have been feeling off my game but I wasn't not going to take that laying down. "I swear to God Marcus, Leave Now. Or you will most sorely regret it."

He just smirked. His left fist connected with my cheek. My reflexes were off too, great. But I did get him back. I got him back as hard as I could, right in his face. HE stumbled back for a second, giving me a chance to grab my bag and move. I was able to walk about five feet before a hand grabbed my arm. When I turned around to fight back the best that I could, I was pushed. So much so that I was thrown back a couple of feet. I couldn't do it. As badly as I wanted to, I couldn't fight back. The moment my head hit the ground, I knew this was a losing battle.

Trying to sit up, a figure came passed me and towards Marcus and his friends. I could only see the back of the guy but instantly I knew it was Paul. "I swear on my own life, if you ever fucking touch her again, or if you even try, I will not hesitate to beat you so bad, you will be unrecognizable."

There was such as fierceness in his voice. There was no doubt in my mind that Paul would do just as he said. "What can you do to stop me?"

I was just able to stand up as Marcus took a step towards Paul. Marcus hit him. But before Paul could respond, a teacher came in yelling, breaking up the fight. Paul turned to me. All I could say was two words. "Thank you."

He nodded. I couldn't look at him any longer though. I was able to grab my things before the teacher took, Marcus, Paul and me to the Principal's office.

Sitting down, outside his office, Mr. Warner took us in one by one. Marcus went first. Then it was Paul. And finally, it was my turn. I explained to him everything. I told him about the first incident with Marcus to explain why he came after me again this time. I was thankful that no punishment was given to me or Paul for that matter. But Marcus was another thing. He was suspended for a week, and had detention for another week after he came back.

Once I outside, I bumped into Paul. Instinctively, I looked up to him for a moment. Didn't stay that way for long. I just looked to the ground and headed to my next class.

.

.

.

A week. A whole damn week had passed since the incident at the bonfire. I still felt horrible. I just never seemed to get my energy back. all that week, nothing got better. I never talk to the guys though they tried. Physically, all I could do was go to school, do homework, eat, and sleep. Even if I got a good night's sleep, I was still tired when I woke up. I had dark circles under my eyes. My skin had become paler. I just wasn't myself any more.

Waking up on that Sunday morning, Grandma really noticed that I wasn't doing well. She came up to my room that morning with breakfast. "Sweetheart, what is going on with you? You don't look good."

"I don't feel well. My head hurts a little. My whole body is sore. I'm constantly tired and am always feeling week. I don't feel like it's a cold or flu or anything like that. I just don't know what it is."

"When did it start?"

"Last Sunday."

She looked away for a moment, as if she was figuring it out. "Here. Eat this. just relax. I'll be back to check on you later. I have a few phone calls I need to make."

"Thanks Grandma."

She smiled before giving me a hug and heading out of my room.

Though I didn't eat much, I was able get at least half of the food down. Putting the uneaten food on my desk, I laid back down. As much as it hurt me to think about him, my mind was on Paul.

.

.

_Nothing but trees, grass, and more trees. Only little portions of sky could be seen. but none of that mattered to me. What mattered was what I was waiting for. Sure enough a huge dark gray wolf came out from some trees in the distances. Slowly it came to me, as if testing its boundaries. I nodded as if to tell it, it was okay for it to come closer. I knew it was one of the guys, I just couldn't tell who._

_Once to me, I was able to grab a hold of its neck. The fur was softer then I thought it would be. running my fingers through it, I felt relaxed. Pulling away, all I could see was his eyes. Eyes that I knew. Eyes that I could never forget. "Paul."_

_He took a few steps back, putting plenty of space between us. Only seconds passed before the wolf disappeared. No longer did the wolf stay, but Paul did. Completely naked. but that didn't matter. All he did was close the gap between us. His arms wrapped around me, bringing me closer to his chest. I placed my ear against his chest as I enclosed my arms around his waist. "I'm sorry."_

_"No need to be sorry, Angel. You are my life. I would do anything for you. I love you."_

_A smile came to me. Never could I have imagined someone loving me so deeply. "I love you too, Paul. I always will."_

_His heart beat steadily, relaxing me even more._

_._

_._

_All of them were there. Paul, Sam, Jacob, Seth, all of the pack and their imprints. I just stood in the doorway, leaning against the side with a smile on my face. This house, these people, it was a home. They were all family. Some of the boys were playing video games with others were watching. They were being normal rowdy boys. Funny and heartwarming. The imprints, they were in the kitchen making food and just chatting. _

_Every bit of what I saw was amazing. Jacob, who just had his ass handed to him on the game, was the first to notice me. He handed his controller to Embry and came over to me. "No need to just stand here, Ellie. Join us."_

_"I couldn't."_

_"Oh come on." He said placing an arm around my shoulder, "You are a part of this pack, of our family. You should know that by now."_

_I knew I was but hearing one of them say it meant so much more. I, __**me**__, actually started tearing up. "I know Jacob."_

_"Then why the tears?"_

_"It's just nice to actually hear it."_

_"Well...you're not going anywhere. We'll chain you down if we have to."_

_With a slight chuckle, I gently pushed him. After a moment, I took the lead and headed over to the guys. I knew these guys were good but I had to show them who was the boss. _

.

.

Waking up, I was surprised at my own dreams. Yes, I knew that I was thinking about Paul before I went back to sleep, but never had I had such vivid dreams. They felt so real, like it actually happened. It was a double edged sword for me. It was a nice dreams, nice to see everyone like that. But at the same time, it hurt me. It literally hurt me to see that, to imagine that. This _sickness_, this tiredness, this pain, had to go away soon. If it got much worse, I wasn't sure how much of it I could take.

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I have the next couple written up already. I really want to get them up so you can all see what I meant to happen.

OzLady80: There was a little bit of 'drama' that I wanted to put in, shake things up a little bit. You'll see what I mean when I post the next few chapters.

I know what I put it might not exactly be 'logical' and what not, but I wanted to put something different in. Hopefully it's decent enough for all of you. And yes, her secret will be revealed in one of the chapters tonight. Yay!...=D


	12. Pain and Hurt but not Death or Loss

School was still horrible. Absolutely nothing could bring me to talk to anyone, to do anything. I could barely move, barely talk, barely pay attention. Nothing mattered. And I couldn't figure it out. I couldn't get why I was becoming like this, why I was so tired, why I felt so broken.

I had more dreams, just like the ones before. Either I was with Paul or the pack. All of them felt so real. And in all of them, I was happy. I was surrounded by people who thought of me like family, who cared about me, who loved me. But for some reason, I couldn't talk to them. I couldn't talk to Paul. My head just wasn't allowing me to. In the battle between my head and my heart, my heart seemed to be losing.

.

.

When it hit Thursday, I was still not getting better. I was still getting worse. Grandma wouldn't let me go to school and I couldn't find a reason to argue with her. I went back to sleep as soon as I was told I wasn't going. But that didn't last too long. When I woke up the second time, Grandma was gone. She left a note saying she had a few errands that she had to run and that they wouldn't take long.

Being that I felt hungry, I took the chance and got out of bed. Heading to the kitchen, I was very careful with my steps and where I was going. I didn't want to take the chance and trip or anything. Fairly quick and pretty easy, I got out the instant oatmeal and a bowl. I could feel a dizziness coming on. But I figured that if I ate something it would help. It took longer than it would have had I felt _normal_. Waiting for it to cook, I leaned against the counter. I closed my eyes. I was still tired. As I opened them, my vision was fading. I knew I was going to go unconscious. It tried to sit on the floor before I did, but I was gone before my butt hit the floor.

.

.

.

Charlene Monroe knew something was wrong, even before she was heading home. There was a heavy feeling in her heart. Though all of her errands had been taken care of, she knew she should have been home long before then. Not taking any chances or even bothering with the speed limit, she raced home.

The air felt wrong. Stepping out of the car, her keys were in hand, ready to open the door. In the living room, there was nothing. But she didn't need to go far. On the kitchen floor lay her granddaughter. She was face down. One arm was under her chest, the other flayed out. Her legs bent at a seemingly odd angle. Charlene knew id she tried to move her, she would do more damage than good. So she picked up the phone and called the one person she knew could help. "Sam, I need your help. Ellie has collapsed. I'm afraid to move her."

"I'll be right there."

Hanging up, she kneeled down next to her granddaughter. Gently stroking her hair, she softly spoke, "You'll be okay Eleanor. I know just what you have needed all along but you have been too stubborn to see. I'll make sure you will be okay. So will he."

A forced smile came to her face as she waited.

It was not long before Sam had arrived. The door was opened and Charlene could hear it. "Sam, I'm in the kitchen."

The footsteps came closer until a figure appeared in the doorway. 'What happened to her?"

"I came back after errands and found her like this. The stress of the war her heart and mind are fighting and from being away from him, have made her sick. She needs..."

"We'll take her to my house. He will come then."

"Thank you Sam," she said standing up, "I appreciate the help you are giving me."

"Anything for an Elder. For an Imprint."

Gently Sam picked up Ellie's body. She just laid in his arms like a rag doll. Charlene and Sam took her to Charlene's car and placed her in the back seat. Ellie needed help and Charlene would stop at nothing to help her.

.

Those minutes to Sam's house seemed like hours. But it did pass. Sam, who still had a hold of Elle, immediately headed towards the house. Charlene was right behind him. He came into the house, with no questions and went to the nearest bedroom. "Emily!"

Just as Sam was gently lying Ellie on the bed, a woman walked in. "Sam, what di...what happened to her?"

"She...we think it's because of being away, or not accepting the imprint. It's a part of what happened to Paul. Do you mind making sure is she is warm and safe here? I need to get Paul here immediately."

Just as he said, Sam walked out of the room as Emily went to the bed. Carefully, as to make sure she didn't hurt Ellie, Emily moved her so that she was under the covers.

Only then did Emily and Charlene get to truly look at Ellie's body. So fragile looking. Dark circles were under her eyes. She was severely pale and clammy. Her breathing was a little shaky. She just seemed like she could fall apart at any moment. Charlene and Emily teared up. She was not meant to look like this.

.

.

.

_So beautiful. So calming. Trees surrounded the lake. The sky was a light, stormy gray. The only sound I could hear was the sound of a light breeze. Nothing else. I could stay there forever. Slowly, taking in my surrounding, I walked. I walked the perimeter of that lake, multiple times, never caring to count the number._

_Only after an unknown number of laps did I stop and sit down on a log I had not remembered seeing. Being that it was near the edge of the lake, I was able to see my reflection in the water. I didn't look like me. I knew at the moment, that I looked sick and tired. My reflection showed me as a healthy me, a normal me. A smile was on her face. "If only I could look like you again."_

_"But you can."_

_My eyes were wide. It was talking to me. "You don't need to be afraid of me. I am just an extension of you."_

_"But it's impossible."_

_"Nothing is impossible in a dream. Besides is this any less possible then Paul, Sam, Jared, all of the guys turning into wolves?"_

_This me was right. "But why are you talking to me?"_

_"Because of why you are unconscious."_

_I looked away. I was in a dream, apparently, so why would I want to talk to myself about this._

_By the time I looked back to my reflection, she was gone. I had no reflection to be seen. But soon, I felt a hand on my shoulder. There __**she**__ was. My reflection had become real, and had seated herself on the log beside me. "Ellie, you know why you are like this."_

_"I..I don't."_

_"If I know then you know. It's because of Paul, because of the imprint, because of you non-acceptance of it."_

_"But how can I accept that? I don't have a choice. The imprint...it makes me..."_

_"Darling, it doesn't make you do anything."_

_"But..."_

_"The imprint, just like Paul told you, doesn't force you into anything. It pushes you in the right direction. It gives you a choice, the only choice that matters."_

_"It doesn't seem like that."_

_She smiled at me. "You are stubborn. I know that because I am you. You could walk away if you wanted too. You could leave and never come back, never see any of the guys again. You would never have think of them again. You have that choice. You could leave if you chose to do it. So let me ask you this. When you think of your future and you picture yourself getting married and having kids, who do you picture it is with? When you think of the perfect guy for you, who do you see?"_

_She was right. No matter how hard I tried or how much thought I put into it, I always pictured Paul. Even with his past and his issues, he still cares for me. He would do anything for me. Even though it is the imprint that brought us together doesn't mean that it was the only thing that did. "When you get out of this place, talk to him. Don't let him go. Get things straight and don't look back."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Don't thank me, thank yourself."_

_She smiled and within seconds, she faded away. _

.

.

.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He knew that Ellie was getting bad, as bad as he felt. But this was something else. Seeing her unconscious, seeing her so torn apart, so...broken killed him. Without hesitation, he pulled a chair over to the bed. Placing a kiss on her forehead, Paul sat in the chair and held her left hand. "Ellie, I care about you too much. You have to be okay. I can't lose you. I need you. I'm here. I'm not leaving until you wake up. You're stuck with me."

"Paul." a voice said from the door way.

"Sam, I..."

"You can stay here as long as you need. You're off patrol until both of you get better."

All he could do was nod. His voice would betray him if he spoke.

Every minute for the rest of that day, he stayed with her. He would talk to her, tell her how things were going, hoping that a familiar voice might bring her back. Each minute that passes without her waking up, he felt distraught, alone. When Emily started cooking dinner, even the smell didn't move him. Soon after the smell, Emily walked in. "Paul, dinner's ready if you want."

"I can't. I...I just..."

He couldn't speak. "Paul."

Her voice was soft. All she could do was wrap her arms around him. For the first time in a long time, he cried. Paul Lahote actually cried. "I don't know what I would do if I actually lost her. I can't see myself without her."

"She'll be okay. She already looks better."

"But she's not awake."

"Let me bring you some food. You need to at least eat something."

The moment Emily left the room, all eyes were on her. She wanted to smile but she couldn't. Seeing Paul cry got to her. But she did what she meant to, bring Paul food.

.

.

Two days has passed. Ellie may have looked better, healthier, but she still had not woken up. Paul almost never left her side. He would fall asleep in the chair, and only left the room for the bathroom. None of the guys had ever seen him like that. Jared, Embry, Sam, and Quil all felt for him. For none of them knew what they would do if it was their imprint in that position.


	13. All is Revealed

"But she...not awake...can't you..."

The voice. It seemed so sad, so worried. I wanted to hear all of what it said. My heart was telling me I had to move, I had to wake up. The darkness was constant and surrounding. It was wanting to close in on me. but I wasn't letting it. My mind was pushing at the darkness, pushing it away.

"She's fighting. She's trying to push through."

"Will she make it?"

"If you stay with her Paul, she will. Your bond will give her that strength she needs."

Paul. It was him. I had to push though. There was no way I was staying in this state for much longer.

With all my might, all the strength I possessed, I pushed. The darkness was slowly fading. There was movement around me. I could feel something. Something was touching me. A heat, a very strong heat, was holding me. I held onto that warmth, focused on it. Internally, I couldn't help but smile. Finally it moved forward. Now it was only like I was lying down, my body tied and my eyes glued. No longer was I just a mind floating.

Focusing on the heat, I forced my eyes open but I closed them immediately. Just too damn bright for the moment. Taking the time to let my eyes adjust, I heard them again. This time it was constant, normal. Loud. "Ellie...Ellie!"

"Urgh...keep it down a little." my voice was groggy but it was my voice.

"Sorry," it was a little softer this time, more manageable.

When I was able to actually open my eyes, all I saw was Paul.

I knew the others were in the room, but all I saw was him. Instant reaction: I hugged him. He was warm and his heart beat steady. "Paul."

"You're okay."

"Paul."

I heard the pain in his voice. Looking up to him, he looked better then the last time that I saw him but he still wasn't back to normal. He looked tired. "Ellie."

Tears. I felt them before I saw them. Picking up my hand, I wiped away some of his tears. "I'm sorry Paul. I never thought this could happen from turning away. I never thought it would hurt us like..."

"Angel...I don't care about that anymore. You are alive and you are okay. That is all that matters to me. You."

"I have something to explain to you all."

"Ellie..."

"Just trust me.

"Okay," he nodded, "How about we get you some food and drink first. We can all talk."

"Only if everyone is there. What I have to tell you, I don't want to have to say more then once."

Letting go, Paul stood up, which allowed me to move my legs so they hung over the edge of the bed.

With Paul's help, I was able to head to the kitchen. Without him there, I know I would have fallen. "Ellie! You're awake!" Emily said hugging me.

"Yeah. I don't want to be rude but I'm a little hungry, is there anything leftover from these guys that I can get?"

"Sure. I'll put a couple things together for you."

"Thank you." I said while I sat down.

Being awake and being with everyone was nice. But I knew after I ate, I had some explaining to do. They all knew I had questions as well.

Only a minute or two after sitting down, Emily placed a glass of water and a plate in front of me. On that plate was a hamburger and a blueberry muffin. Taking the first bite, I almost moaned, it tasted so good. It felt like I hadn't eaten in days. So that Burger was gone in a matter of minutes. So was the water. All the while, Paul was watching me. A huge smile was plastered on his face. He looked better when he was happy.

After finishing the muffin, I turned to see who was there. All the pack was there. Definitely a good thing that I wouldn't have to explain it more then once. "Paul...I'm sorry about the past two weeks. I thought there was no choice in it. But I was wrong. I do have a choice. I could walk away and not look back if I wanted to, never to see you again. But...I couldn't do that. It hurts me even think about it."

"Ellie..."

"I have a choice. And I choose to stay here. I don't see it any other way. I've come to accept the imprinting. I really have."

I couldn't continue. Paul hugged me. He just wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "I'm glad to hear you say that."

"So am I."

With a quick kiss, I felt his happiness.

But there was so much more to tell. To show them. I took a few deep breathes as Paul still held me. "There is something I need to tell you. You have told me your secret. Now I shall tell you mine."

"Angel...what are you talking about?"

"Let me show you. Emily...can you get a pan or something heat resistant?"

She nodded.

Fairly quickly, she grabbed a cooking pan and placed it in front of me. I grabbed a few of the napkins that were in front of me, crumpled them up and place them in the pan. I was getting a few strange looks but I had to continue. Focusing on the napkins, I used the heat in the room to start it off. Before anything else happened, a flame appeared. It was small but soon, with more focus, more energy, it engulfed the entire napkin mass. The flames grew exponentially. As soon as I closed my eyes I let the focus go and the flamed immediately died.

To say they were shocked would be an understatement. No one was saying anything. all I got were strange looks. "I...I am a pyrokinetic. I create fire, manipulate it."

"How can you..."

"I think of it this way Seth. I don't create the fire out of nothing. I focus onto the object I want to light on fire. I find any heat from around me and draw that in. I intensify that heat, so much so that I create a spark, or a flame. Once started, I can either let the fire rage on, or make it cease to exist. "

"You held onto this secret. Never letting any clue of it out. Why tell us now?" Sam asked.

"I felt the need to. I know your secret. I know about the legends, about the wolves. I know you trust me not to tell. Being you trust me not to tell your secret, I can trust you to keep mine. You all would have found out eventually. Paul imprinted on me. I'm not going anywhere. Time would pass and something would happen to let it be known. So it is best you be told. You are the first people to know about this other then my Grandma and mother. Even Sophia doesn't know."

"Why are you so hesitant to tell her, or anyone for that matter?"

"It's not just about the ability. It's about what caused me to find out why I had it in the first place."

"Ellie..."

"I've killed, Sam. I killed someone with this ability. Mind you, he wasn't exactly normal but that isn't the point. I have _killed_."

"Ellie, come on. You can't ha..."

"But I have. I straight but killed someone. Now...just give me a second to collect myself so I can tell you what happened."

Closing my eyes, I tilted my head to the ground.

I just needed a few deeps breathes. This was going to be hard but they needed to know. "It began my sophomore year in high school. I never really had many friends. Acquaintances, yes, but not friends. But I had one good friend, she was my best friend. Sophia. I knew her for years. She got me, she understood me. I had that sarcastic, sometimes bitchy attitude that I have now. People didn't get me.

"Then one day, during my sophomore year, this new kid came to town. Thomas Kidwell. Blonde hair, brown eyes, tall, athletic. H was in most of my classes too. And because of that, I got to know him pretty well. And through that, I liked him. He understood my nature and was still my friend. He was the first guy that I liked that actually like me back. He was nice, sarcastic, a bit of a joker. All that I wanted at the time.

"As time went on, we got closer. Eventually he asked me out on a date. I liked him a lot so I couldn't say no. The date went well. We did a dinner and a movie thing. And things went well from there. We started dating shortly after our first date. I was so excited about it. I was glad that I found someone. I felt safe with him. We were together for three months. Longest relationship I had.

"But then, over winter vacation, he and his family went on vacation. Two weeks he was gone. No big deal. I talked to him on his cell phone. So it wasn't so bad. But then he came back. Thomas was different. Physically, mentally, every bit of him seemed different. He was pale, and I mean really pale. Plus he would never go out in direct sunlight. He smelt different too. Too sweet, sickly sweet really. And on top of that, his eyes were red. Not blood shot but they went from being brown to blood red."

"Vampire." Paul mumbled tensely.

I could hear the strain in his voice and feel the shaking. "Paul, keep it calm, please. He's not coming back. He will never come back."

He nodded. "Just remember to stay calm with the rest of the story. There's...there is more to come. So...at the time, I...I didn't know what he was. I just thought there was something that happened to him. He stopped coming to school. I thought maybe...maybe he got sick or something.

"After two weeks of not seeing him at school, or barely talking to him, I knew I had to go see him. I wanted to make sure if he was okay or not. I had to know what was going on. He was my boyfriend after all. So after school one day, I went over to his house. I could hear the TV so I knew he had to be home. I knocked on the door and waited.

"He answered. But with no doubt, he was surprised to see me. Even with the shock, he let me in. As I stepped inside, I felt crowded. Thomas was a little too close for comfort. For whatever reason, we walked into the dining room. I asked if he was okay. I knew something was wrong; I just couldn't put a finger on it. He just stared at me. His glare was so intense that it scared me. He began inching closer to me. I had a bad feeling.

"He told me what happened. He told me how when him and his family were camping, they were attacked. His parents, brother, and sister were killed. He, however, was turned. He was angry. Angry that he lost his parents, his family. Angry about what he had become. He was also angry at me. He hated me. Because to him, my _scent_...I...I was too tempting. My blood, he wanted it more than anyone else's he had been in contact with. All through this talk, I knew...I knew that he wanted to kill me. I could see it in his eyes."

My heart was racing. Tears threatened to spill. But I had to continue.

"Before he couldn't continue on with his story, I ran to the closest Exit. But it was the back yard. No one was going to see me from there. They couldn't see me, or Thomas, or the fact that he was going to try and kill me. But, it did work out to my advantage in the end. So...he grabbed me from behind and threw me. Landing on my side, I felt the pain of a few ribs breaking. I tried to get up but he grabbed me before I could. At this point, I was feeling warm. And it wouldn't go away, even with him being cold to the touch. He threw me a good distance. The time I landed, I broke my wrist trying to cushion my fall. I turned so I was sitting. I...he was staring down at me, like I was...like I was just some animal, some piece of meat. He was going to kill me. The murderous look on his face, it scared me beyond belief."

"That was why you almost had a breakdown after the incident with Marcus. When you looked at him, you saw yourself."

I just nodded. My voice didn't want to work. I needed a break, a moment to collect myself. As I was telling the story, I was reliving every moment of it. During the silence, Paul did exactly what I needed. He kissed my temple as he gave me a little squeeze. Such a simple gesture but it helped. Enough for me to continue.

"I don't know what happened after that. I mean...I was just staring at him. It was the only thing I could do, considering I was sure I was going to die. Then it seemed that out of nowhere he just started screaming. Only then did I realize that part of him was on fire. As shocked as I was, I knew...I knew it was helping me. I focused on the fire, as soon as I did, it magnified tenfold, consuming all of him. Each time I focused my stare, the flames grew stronger. I could see...I saw his eyes from behind the flames. He seemed both sorry and sad. But it was...it was for the...the best. We both knew it.

"It seemed like it took only a few minutes for him to turn to ash. But what I didn't know was the almost the entire times he was in flames, someone was watching. Two people actually. My mom and Grandma. They came to my side as soon as the flames disappeared. I couldn't tell you what they said to me. My body wouldn't respond. I was in complete shock. My boyfriend, who just happened to be a vampire, attacked me and I fought him off by setting him on fire. Hell, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't talk, I couldn't move.

"For a week, I couldn't do anything. I literally shut myself away from the world. I cared about Thomas. He was my first real boyfriend and I killed him. I actually killed him. I couldn't get over that fact. Grandma and my mom helped me though. They took care of me while I was in that state. They knew. They knew what I could do from the beginning of it. They knew I killed someone. And they still kept it secret."

I couldn't help but look to the ground. I still felt bad about it.

Suddenly, a hand touched my shin, gently lifting up my head. Paul made me look him straight in the eyes. "No matter what you did, you are still an amazing person. You fought for your life. If you didn't do what you did, you wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't have you. He would have killed you, and many others after you if you didn't kill him."

"I know that, Paul. It's just that..."

"He was your boyfriend at the time. You cared about him. That still doesn't change what I said. I mean it, Ellie. You did what anyone would have. You did it in self-defense."

Letting out a sigh, I nodded. "It's just hard to accept though. But I think having you around is helping. I care about you Paul. And...I'm yours...if you'll still have me after all this."

He just smiled. Before I saw it, his lips touched mine. I was shocked at the passion I felt from him. And even though I knew the imprint wouldn't let him let me go, I was happy that he still wanted me.

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_**Finally the truth has come out. All secrets have been revealed. I know it may or may not be what you thought it might be but her secret, is what got me the idea for the story. I wanted to write something with that in it. And this story is how it has come out. There will be a few more chapters in the story of course. I know where I want this one to end and I have a good idea of how I am going to get there. Hopefully you all like this one and the others I just posted. **_

_**Please, if you have any suggestions or comments, or any constructive criticism to the story, do not hesitate to let me know. I would love to know if there is anywhere I can improve.**_


	14. A Surprise Guest

_**Next one up now. Sorry it took a little bit. My work schedule has been changing as of lately. I hope this is decent for you guys. I had a little trouble trying to get the idea to come to words. But this story will still keep going. I really do have plans for this one. And something else will come up soon. Another little surprise coming in the next one. Nothing bad, I promise. That much I can tell you. Any how...now to the story.**_

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Perfect timing. Just as I pulled away from Paul, the front door opened. My grandma was right there, with a bag in her hand. she smiled, placed the bag on the counter and immediately came to hug me. "Eleanor...you're okay."

"Of course. I had a dream of talking to myself, literally. I do have a choice grandma. I realize that now. You are stuck with Paul now. Who knows when, but one day, I'm pretty sure he'll be your grandson-in-law."

She smiled. And I could tell Paul was happy with my comment. He hugged me a little tighter.

Grandma then turned to Paul and stared right at him. They just stared at one another for a moment. "Paul, as a Grandma, I should tell you, you ever hurt my Grand-baby and you will be in for a world of pain. But knowing the situation, you would never purposely hurt her. I know that. But if in any way you do hurt her, I will hurt you. You know that right?"

"Of course."

Stepping away, she went and grabbed the bag she brought in.

She handed it to me. Obviously there was something in there for me, but I was clueless on what it was. I took out the hard square object. I was surprised. It was the picture I drew of Paul. "I figured you would want to give it to him, so I had it framed."

I nodded. Turning my head to Paul, he was just staring at the picture. "Ellie...you drew that?"

"Yeah. It was before the whole learning of the wolf thing. I just got this picture in my head and just ran with it."

"It's...I love it."

"It's yours. I planned to give it to you at some point. Now seems like a good enough time."

This time I expected it. I saw it when he leaned in. He kissed me. Soft and sweet yet still so very passionate. I would never get tired of kissing him.

Had we been alone, it would have been longer. But no one needed a show. Grandma smiled. "I have two other surprises for you. I didn't know when you were going to wake and they wanted to be here."

"Grandma?"

"Your mom and Sophia are suppose to be here today. Probably around five or so, depending on the flight."

"Seriously?"

"I told them both you weren't well. They both had to come here, so they came together."

"Do they know I'm awake?"

"Not yet."

"Do they know I'm here? And if so, are they coming here?"

"Yes to both."

"Don't tell them. I want to surprise them."

"I won't."

I just smiled. I couldn't wait.

I just turned and hugged Paul. I just felt like I needed to. But then I realized one thing. I stood up and started slowly walking out of the room. Paul stopped me before I got too far. "Where do you think you are going missy?"

"I may not know how long I was out but I..."

"Two days. You were unconscious for two day."

"Wow. Anywho...I've been out for two days. If my mom and Sophia are coming, I'm not letting them see me like this. Or smell me. I need a shower."

He just laughed. "Only you."

"Do I have any clothes?"

I directed that to Grandma. "I brought some for when you did wake up. Good thing too."

I was given my clothes and Paul, who wouldn't take no for an answer, helped me get to the bathroom. I wouldn't let him go any further than that...yet.

.

.

I didn't want to take too long. I was out for two days. I wanted to spend a bit of time with Paul before my mom and Sophia got there. Sitting with him in the living room, I was in his lap, his arms around me. I felt calm, relaxed, perfectly safe in his arms. "Paul...I really am sorry."

"You have no need to be sorry. I don't know how I would have reacted if I was you."

"I know. But I still feel so bad about it. I feel like I should have done something different."

"What happened, happened. You are here, with me now. That is all that matters."

Turning my head, I was face to face with him.

Something just struck me. He was staring at me, looking at me like I was the only person in the world. So much intensity. Love. Adoration. Caring. Everything. I was the only girl in the world to him. He loved me like nothing else. I would be the only one he would be with from that point on. He would be the only man I would ever be with, would ever love. He is my future. My life would always have him in it. That love, that pure and absolute love that I felt from him just shocked me. I knew something then. Something I felt but never put together until them. I couldn't help but start to cry at the shear mass of emotions.

I just wrapped my arms around him and put my face against his chest. Instinctively, he moved his arms but still kept them around me. He pulled me closer. "Ellie...what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"But you're crying."

"It's good tears, I promise you."

"Ellie..."

I pulled back and looked him straight in the eyes. "Paul."

"Yes Ellie?"

"I...I love you."

Utter shock. All he did was stare at me for a moment. But then he smiled. "I love you too."

And he hissed me. But this one kiss was like none other before it. It was like realizing that I loved him brought something else into the equation. So much passion, intensity. His lips moved with mine. Not rough but not that gentle either. After pulling away, though not wanting to, I laid my head at the crook of his neck. "You have no idea how much hearing that means to me."

"And you have no idea how much it means to have a male figure that I actually love."

With a kiss to my temple, we stayed where we were, enjoying the moment.

.

.

A few hours had passed and Paul and I were still in the same position. We weren't just going to go about like before. We wanted to savour the time we had, at least for the moment. My mom and Sophia weren't going to come quietly.

It was after those few hours that I heard it. A vehicle was pulling up. The only possible person, or persons shall I say, was my mom and Sophia. I sat up straight and looked to Paul. "You actually get to meet my mom and Sophia."

"I...will they..."

"A little nervous are we?"

"This is your mom we are talking about. I don't want her to hate me. Or Sophia for that matter. They mean so much to you and I don't want to cause problems."

"Well Grandma loves you, and is she does, I'm sure they will too. Besides, even if they don't like you, they will have to deal with it. You are stuck with me. Neither one of us is going anywhere anytime soon."

"Yeah. You are stuck with me."

"Oh great. And here I thought I'd be able to ditch you in the woods."

"That hurt babe, that hurt." He said smiling.

"You know you love it."

He just laughed, kissing me in the process.

It didn't last long. I heard it before I saw it. "ELEANOR ISOLDE MONROE! You better tell me this is the Paul I was told so much about?"

"Sophia!"

I got up from Paul and gave her a hug. I couldn't help but laugh. "This is Paul right?"

"Yes this is Paul."

Paul stood up. She immediately went to him. She was staring him down. It was funny to see. Here was this five foot six inch, skinny, brown haired, brown eyed white girl, staring Paul down. Paul just stood there. "I trust you would never hurt her?"

Paul nodded. "You would never leave her?"

"It hurts to even think about it."

"You care about her?"

"I love her more than anything."

"You hut her and I will hurt you. Got that?"

"Wouldn't ever think of it."

Suddenly she just smiled. "You're okay. As long as she likes you, I'll be nice."

"Thanks...I think."

She shook her head and just jumped at me, hugging me in the process.

We both laughed as we ended up falling to the floor. "You just had to tackle me to the ground. You couldn't just go about it like a normal person could you?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Now...get the hell of me. I love you and all, but you are kind of squishing me."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Oh yes. If you're fat, then I'm as innocent as a child."

Another laugh. But it wasn't from me or her. It was from everyone else.

When I was finally on my feet, I saw my mother. Her smiled was infectious. All she did was hug me at first. "I was so worried about you. When Grandma told me, I knew I had to be here. I know I haven't been in your life that much lately, with my job and all but I had to be here."

"I know Mom. I love you. And I'm glad you took the job. You deserve it. And besides, if you didn't, I wouldn't have met everyone here. I wouldn't have met Paul."

"You really care about him don't you Eleanor."

"I love him Mom."

She smiled. "Are you sure? Do you know you love him? Or do you think you do?"

"I know I will never find anyone else like him. I know he loves me like nothing else. I know that he would always be there for me when I need him and that I would do anything for him. I love him. I don't think it. I know it."

"As long as you know it, I'll support you for it. As long as he treats you well."

But that wasn't the end of her parental moment. She turned and looked right into Paul's eyes.


	15. A New Surprise

_**I know it's been a very long time. And I do apologize for that. I got laid off from my job and I've been trying to find another job. And there was a few things going on within my family. So there has been a lot of stress and I have had no interest or time in writing anything for that matter. I am trying now though. Got to do something to keep myself occupied. So, this one may not be the greatest, but atleast it is something.**_

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Just like with Sophia, she was staring right at Paul. She wanted to scare him. I knew my mother. She knows how I was with guys before. she is my mother. All she wants to do is protect him. "Paul, I know she loves you. I can tell you love her. There is no doubt about either one of those. But as she is my daughter, and I will hunt you down if you hurt her. She has gone through some 'issues' in the past and..."

"He knows mom."

She turned to me, surprised. "Everything?"

"Everything. I showed him, all of them."

"But why? I thought..."

"Something happened. They deserved to know."

"You trust them with that?"

"I trust them with my life."

She turned back to Paul. "I guess I'm going to have to trust you if she told you. I'll have to keep that in mind."

Paul smiled. He had to be relieved that he got it pretty easy.

Going from there, I got in the middle. Introductions were needed, at least for my mom and Sophia. "As all of you know by now, this is my mom and Sophia. As for you two, intros are needed. This is Sam and Emily."

I pointed to each as I called their names. "Embry and Liz, Quil who is holding Claire, Jacob, Leah, Seth..."

And I couldn't continue. I absolutely was shocked. Seth looked right at Sophia. That look. I was sure of what it meant. As did the others. Seth imprinted. He imprinted on my best friend. She would know the same love that I know with Paul. She would know about the wolves. I didn't think she would be brought into this.

Everyone knew something happened. The only two that didn't know the truth of it were Sophia and my mom. It took a moment but Sophia and Seth had stopped looking at one another. Sophia looked to me. I shook out of my stared and smiled. This was going to be interesting. Seth was a couple years younger than me and Sophia. What got to me more than anything, is that not only was she going to learn about the wolves, I would have to tell her about me too.

Paul looked to me and nodded towards Seth. I got his meaning. With a quick kiss, Paul left my side and took Seth outside. I went over to Sophia. "What was that about?"

"You mean the whole you and Seth staring at one another?"

"Yes...that."

"You'll find out. I'm not allowed to tell you myself."

"But you're my best friend."

"And I would tell you if I could. But it is not my secret to tell."

"So there's a secret involved?"

"Sophia...listen to me now. You will find out. I promise. But I cannot tell you. There is something that you will find out from me, but it has nothing to do with what just happened."

She knew from my tone that it was the truth.

To take the tension away from the situation, I grabbed her chin and just licked the side of her face. As soon as I did, I ran away, as far as I could inside the house. Not only was Sophia staring at me, so was everyone else. "ELLIE!"

"What?" I said, feigning innocence.

"Wait 'til I..."

"Until what? You know you love me."

"That may be the case, but you still suck."

I just gave her a smirk. She knew I wanted to comment, but with my mom in the room, it was not going to happen. At least at that point there was fun-ness to the air.

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The rest of the afternoon went well. Seth and Paul came back in, and Seth was just smiling ear to ear. He immediately went straight to Sophia and started chatting her up. It was really nice to just see that. I sat with Paul and my mom. They were talking. I just sat there, nestled into Paul side and with his arm around me. Enough time had passed that I had fallen asleep right next to Paul.

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A couple of days had passed and things went well. Everyone seemed to like Sophia. Except Leah. Leah was complicated. She liked her a bit but found her annoying. But she dealt with it because of Seth and the imprint.

After those two days, I was sad to see Sophia and my mom go. I wanted a little bit more time with them but I knew that it wasn't a possibility. they had to leave and I knew that. Seth was sad as well. He only just met his imprint and she was just going to leave him. But luckily for them, they got a long from the beginning. It was a better start for them then it was for me and Paul. But I knew that things would have to go slow between them. They knew that two. Sophia was 17, almost 18 and Seth was almost sixteen. It sucked to see them go but it had to happen. They would both be coming back anyways. It was only a matter of time.

When my mom and Sophia left for the airport, I immediately went to find Seth. He was sitting on the porch outside, sad of course. Smiling, I sat down next to him. There was silence for a while. But I knew I had to say something. "Seth."

"Ellie."

"You'll be fine, Seth. She will come back."

"Ell..."

"Listen to me Seth. I may not be the sweetest person, or the nicest, or the calmest, or anything else for that matter. But I knew the situation. I know you. I know Sophia. She will come back. She was planning on coming here and staying her for a while after we graduate. That's still the plan."

"Then what? Will she just leave?"

"No way in hell. Sophia is the kind to just go with things, go with the flow. When something changes, she adapts. She knows, she feels that there is something going on. Not just about being hidden from something, but she feels for you. When she comes back, you will get o know each other and she will fall for you. I love you like a brother Seth. I only want to help. I know what imprinting does. She will be pulled to you. Then she will get to know you. If you just be yourself, she will fall in love with you, like I did with Paul."

He hugged me. He just wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. "Thank you. I didn't know what I needed to be told, but you told me it."

"There is only one thing."

He gave me a strange look as he pulled back. "Don't let her find out about the Wolves like I did. She doesn't know about the supernatural. It will be a complete and utter shock if someone just shifts right in front of her. I'm not sure how she would take that. Ease her into it. Tell her the legends of the tribe. Bring her into what it is to be a Quiluete. Don't just transform unless she asks for proof."

"I think I can handle that."

"Now..." I said standing up, "You need to get rid of some of that stress. You should probably go a _run_."

Walking inside, I didn't look back. I didn't need to. He would go for a run. It would help.

Just as I walked inside, I literally bumped into Sam. He smiled at me. "It was a nice thing you did for him."

"He needed someone. I figure I would be best seeing I'm an imprint and I am best friends with his. Now I do have something to ask while I have your attention. My mother."

"What about her?"

"Does she know?"

"About the wolves?"

"Yes."

"She does."

"When did she..."

"Your Grandma was given permission to talk to her, to explain the situation considering she knows about you and the vampire you _met_."

"So I can talk to her about it? There are a few things I would like to say but I wasn't sure I was allowed to."

"You can. Just don't tell Sophia. That's Seth's job."

"Gotcha."

Just a smile and a nod and Sam was off into the forest. I myself got comfortable sitting on the sofa watching tv, waiting for Paul to get out of the shower.


	16. An Unwavering Decision

_**I know, I know. It's again been a while since I have posted. I do apologize. I feel like a really sucky author for doing that. There is not much to say other than I am really sorry and that I will try to do better about updating. Anywho...I am trying to make my updates decent. Any suggestions you may have or any constructive criticism you have, do not hesitate to tell me. I will always try to make things better if I am told what people may think needs help. More will be up soon. I am almost done with the next one. Just a little more and it will be done. Now onto the story.**_

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Things were fairly normal over the next few weeks. The pack was acting a little odd though. Something was going on but no one was telling me anything. Some of the guys were missing school for patrol. I didn't see Paul very much for that matter. It was bugging me.

The thing that did stay normal was Sophia. She would talk, a lot. And without her knowledge, I would plant little things about Seth in her mind. I knew she liked him anyway but I wanted to make sure she knew he was a good guy. I know that she trust my judgment and I loved Seth like a brother. She had to trust that even if she wasn't fully sure of being with Seth because he was younger than her.

It was just under 2 weeks until graduation and the teachers were driving me insane. Every single class I had a ton of homework and studying. I couldn't wait to graduate. I'm not exactly sure what I would do after I graduated but I knew I could stray too far from La Push. I loved the town. I loved my Grandma. I loved the pack and their imprints. I loved Paul. As pig-headed and sometime temperamental as he could be, I loved him and it would hurt me to be too far from him.

Going home from school, I was tired but I knew I had to finish my homework before it piled up on me. Trudging along, I took my time getting from my truck to the house. But as soon as I got to the porch, I heard voices. It was Sam talking to my Grandma. "...not the red head. Apparently it's a 'newborn' vampire army. As much as we hate it, we have to work with the Cullens. We have to protect La Push."

"Sam. I trust your judgment. We all do. The Cullens are not all that bad though. They have the knowledge to take this _threat_ out. Be careful though, I'm sure the newborns are tough."

A thought popped into my head and without hesitation, I walked into the house.

Neither one of them talked when they saw me. I was pretty sure that they didn't know I was there. "I don't know if it's the best idea, but I think I can help."

"No." Sam answered.

"You don't even know my plan."

"No. You are human. You will not be around vampires."

"They are killed by fire right? I can help. I can help you kill them."

"No. I will n..."

"Sam...I have killed before and that was to protect myself. The lives of the people on this reservation are more important than the fact that I will kill. I will help and do whatever I can. These newborns are bound to be dangerous no doubt, but there has to be some sort of 'camouflage' on me because I am around you all so much, because I am an imprint."

"We will be training with the Cullens before anything else is to happen. I don't want you to get hurt by the newborns or the Cullens. If anyone got distracted and you got hurt or killed, it would kill us all. Imagine how Paul would feel if he lost you. You can't fight."

He wasn't listening to me. He just didn't want to hear anything I said.

A compromise. That is what was going to have to happen. "Listen to me Sam. We can find a middle ground, a starting point. I meet the Cullens. See if there is any issues with any of them, any signs that they might go after me. If all is fine, I can show them what I do. If I can be fit into the plan anyway, I will help. I will do what I can, but in a way where I can be safe and no one will be distracted."

He face changed. His mind was considering it. "This just came up and it seems like you were already prepared to put yourself into this, into danger. What has got you so amped up that you are willing to put yourself in danger?"

"I love this town. La Push is my home now. I could never leave here. I could never let something or someone take it away. This place, our people, are a part of this town. I would do anything I could to protect that life I have been given here. I can't just sit around and do knowing nothing that I can help. This place is my home just as much as it is yours and the packs. Please Sam. At least let me meet the Cullens and we can see if I can do anything or not. You know if I can do it safely, I would be a great asset to whatever happens."

"Paul will not like any of this."

"I know Sam. But he doesn't have to. You are the Alpha. He may not like your decision but if you decided to let me, he can't do anything about it. If I meet the Cullens and it turns out that I can't help out safely, I won't do it. But I want to try."

He nodded. "Every precaution will need to be taken, even meeting them. I will not let you get hurt and have Paul cause and incident. No damage can be done."

"I understand."

"I will get in contact with them and figure out a plan. I want this sorted out before anything else. It will be soon. I will let the others know today. You will have to deal with Paul when he finds out. It has been your choice."

"I get that too."

Only then did Sam nod at my grandma and head out. I definitely interrupted their conversation and anything that may have happened had I not entered and voiced my slightly dangerous idea.

As he left, I turned to Grandma. She was looking scared, and worried but at the same time proud. I just hugged her. "Ellie. I wasn't sure you felt that much about here."

"This is my home here. I've never felt more at peace, more welcomed, than I have here. This is where I belong and I will do what I can to protect that. To protect you."

"The guys could handle it."

"They could. But they could also get hurt too. I could lessen the time that they have to fight. I can help, if it can be safe to do so."

"Paul will not like this at all. He will be angry."

"I know. But this is my decision, not his. I will work with him when he finds outs."

She hugged me with no other words said. I knew she didn't want me hurt but I also knew she was proud and honoured that I would want to risk my own safety for that of La Push. Taking that moment, I went up to my room to work on my homework.

It was three hours later that I had just finished for the night. Just as I had finished putting away my books, there was a noise from outside the window. Not sure of what it was, I was careful in going to the window. But when I got there, I instinctively went down stairs and outside. It was Paul that I saw. Just as I stepped out the back door her was right there. There was no doubt that he was mad. "What the hell are you thinking?! Vampires are dangerous!"

"Don't you think I know that? I've meet them before. I killed one."

"This isn't just one! This is a group. You are walking into a pit of killers and you may not get out of it. I won't let you do it."

"I will do it if I want to, Paul. I have my own life which means my own decisions."

Almost a little too hard, he grabbed my arms. "Ellie, you are putting yourself in danger. What is so worth the risk that you putting yourself out there to get killed?"

I didn't even try to pull from his grasp. I knew I would have no chance. I just stared right into his eyes and spoke. I just had to stand my ground and I knew he would get it. He would understand eventually. "You. My Grandma. This town. The life that I have here. I feel alive here. I feel wanted. I feel like this place is where I belong."

He let go of my arms and his face softened slightly. "I love living here. Never have I felt so comfortable in any other place. Most of that is because of you. If I never met you, I would leave here when I graduated. You and the rest of the pack and the imprints make me feel welcomed, make me feel like a family. I can't stand the thought of anything or anyone taking that away. If there is any chance of helping protect this town and doing it as safe as I can, I will do it. I will meet the Cullens and see if it can be done in as safe a manner possible. If it can't, I will back down. But no matter what, I have to try."

"Angel."

"I love you Paul. I always will. But this is my decision. You can't change my mind."

Looking down he was defeated. He knew no matter how hard he would try, I would not back away, that I would not change my mind.

When he looked back up at me, he had a determined look on his face. "As much as I hate it, I get it. But no matter how this goes down, I will be right there by you. I will not let you out of my sight, out of an arm's length. My job is to protect you and nothing will stop me from that."

"Your job is to protect this town, not just me."

"But you are what is most important to me. I don't want to lose you. I thought I was going to lose you once and I never want to feel that again. You are my life."

I couldn't stop myself. I kissed him. I put all of myself into that kiss. He needed to know that I felt the same way, not just with words. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me as close to him as I could possibly be. My hands found their way around his neck, running my finger through his hair. There was no doubt that he knew how I felt, or me knowing how me felt about me. It was just us in that moment. Everything just seemed to disappear.

Only one thing interrupted that moment. My need to breathe. Pulling my head away only enough to look him in the eyes, we both smiled. "Love you."

"Love you too Paul."

"I'm still not okay with you meeting the Cullens, or fighting, but i don't really have a choice now do I?"

"No, no you don't. But I will promise you one thing. I will be as safe as I can. Now, as much as I would love to stay out here with you, my bodily functions need taking care of. Time to make some dinner. You can join me if you want."

"You know I can never say no to food."

One more kiss was all I needed and then I lead him inside.


	17. One Step Further

_**Just be warned, the section between the -.- lines is a bit sexual in content. If you do not wish to read it, just skip over that section. The rest of the story is normal. For those of you that do read it, I am new to writing the 'sex scenes' kind of thing. I have only really done one other scene in my other story so please keep that in mind. I know some might say it is an odd place in the story to put it, but it does work for later on in the story. And sorry it took a little while. I just couldn't quite get the scene right. I had to restart it a couple times. I know it may not be the best, but if I try to look over it again, I would probably try to fix something else. I wanted to get the story up as soon as I could. Also, I'm not sure how many may have noticed about in the last chapter I mentioned it was about a month before graduation. I changed it to two weeks. I got a little mixed up with when the story was placed. Not a major difference but I thought I would mention it. Anyhow...onto the story**_.

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As we stepped inside, Grandma was right there. She took a moment to look at us before smiling. With a hug for both of us, she said, "I see you two are both okay."

"He hates the idea but he knows I won't change my mind."

"Good boy." She said smiling.

"Thanks." Paul replied sarcastically.

"I'm going to be gone for a little bit. I'm meeting with the other Elders. We have a few things we need to discuss."

"Alright Grandma," I said giving her a hug.

"I'll have my phone if you need me for anything. And don't have too much fun while I'm gone."

Her smirk was bright as day. She was joking but at the same time serious. But she was my grandma so I understood where she was coming from. I just shook my head and smiled. She hugged Paul and myself one last time before heading out the door.

Making dinner was easy enough. Paul even helped, and he was better than I thought he would have been. He didn't burn or mess anything up. I felt proud, in an odd way. All the while, we talked. He wanted to try and understand my decision more. I talked mostly, and he listened to everything. There was no anger, no arguing, or anything like that. A little different considering what the conversation was about, but it was definitely nice.

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Despite all that had gone on that day, everything was okay between me and Paul. Hanging out with him alone was nice. Something felt different, but in a good way. After dinner, we headed into the living room started watching some random movie that was on tv. I laid my head on his shoulder as the movie started. I was completely comfortable. He was too.

At the beginning, I was actually watching the movie, paying attention to what was happening. But that didn't last. I had looked up at Paul and just watched him for a little bit. He was smiling slightly, not just his lips but also his eyes. Everything about him was saying he was relaxed and calm. I felt it too. He wasn't worrying about anything to do with the pack. He seemed to be just enjoying the time with me, the contact.

There was no clue in my head of how long I was looking at him before he glanced at me, the smile still on his face. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on my lips. There was nothing more in that kiss then love. Not lust, but doing it just because he could. It was that feeling that he gave when he kissed me that told me so. Never once since we started dating did he try anything else. I knew I loved him. There was no doubt in my mind about that. Of course there were moments when he turned me on, and I'm sure there were moments for him too. And in that moment with him, I wanted him in more than the way I had him.

Only when he looked back at me again, did I kiss him. The moment my lips touched his everything I was feeling towards him, was out in the open. Instantly the atmosphere changed. It wasn't just a kiss anymore. Moving only slightly, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He didn't waste any time either. His arms found their way around my waist. Not being the most comfortable position, I swung my leg so I straddled his lap.

My lips traveled. From his lips slowly down to his collarbone, to the base of his neck. A soft growl rumbled through his throat. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was making him feel like that. "Ellie...Angel."

"Paul." I spoke between kisses.

"Are you..."

"I want this Paul. Just as much as you do."

"Ellie."

"I want you." I said looking into his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Placing my hands, one on each cheek, my answer was a kiss.

He tried to pull me closer, but I wouldn't let him. Quickly, I climbed off his lap and walked away. His gaze followed me the entire way. Only when I stopped by the stairs, did I turn around. "Are you coming with me? Or do I have to finish it off myself?"

It didn't take long for him to be right at my side, pushing me against the wall. A kiss by the ear, leaving a trail of warmth to the crook of my neck. Without warning he pulled away and threw me over his shoulder. I didn't even have the chance to do anything before we had got to my room. Just as he opened the door, I was on the bed, leaning on my arms as I watched him take his shirt off. An amazing body and he was all mine.

He leaned down, placing an arm on either side of me. I was just inches from him and yet he stayed there, not moving. I was getting impatient. I wanted him. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be with him for the rest of my life so I knew I would never regret doing anything with him. "Paul," I whispered softly.

That was all the incentive he needed. He kissed me. No hesitation. The instant I put my arms around his neck, we fell back to the bed. His body seemed to line up with mine perfectly. The warmth of his body hit me in all the right places. Those lips felt amazing against my skin. Each kiss seemed more and more intense.

I was lost in that moment with him. His kiss, took me somewhere else. Our hands hand wandered, with his finding themselves under my shirt. I forced them away with my own just enough so I could take my shirt off. In the split second that the kiss was broken, he looked me over. There was a smile, there was love.

Kiss after kiss. Rolling around on the bed. It wasn't long before the only clothing left was our underwear. I wanted to savor the moment; I want to take the time. And I did for a while. But, at that point, it was taking too long for me. Before he could make a move, I wrapped my legs around him, in a way that I was able to started nudging his boxers down with my feet. He took the hint and slid them the rest of the way down. He was naked, fully naked. I tried to keep myself wrapped around him, but he pulled completely away from me.

The look of my face must have shown my disappointment because he smirked. Sitting up, I tried to pull him back to me but he was too strong. What he did though was kneel on the floor. Grabbing my ankles he slid me to meet him at the edge of the bed. Within a moment, I was left sitting in just my panties. Even that didn't last long. Paul grabbed the edges, pulling them off, all the while knocking me back down on the bed.

This would be the moment. We were both naked and both wanting the same thing. Climbing back on the bed, I grabbed his hair and just kissed him. Everything I felt, I wanted him to feel. "Angel...are you sure? I mean really sure?"

"I know you are the only man I will ever be with. I want this."

There was nothing else to be said. Once again, his lips were against mine. All in the same instant, he had slowly entered me. It didn't hurt but it felt different. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"More than okay."

No turning back. He picked up the pace and that was when the pleasure started building. The further along we moved, the more, animal-like he became. And the more I liked it. We got lost in one another. Our primal senses took over. Just me and him.

It wasn't just the act. It wasn't just the sex. It was the meaning of it. We were one step closer to not just each other. He marked me as his, just as I marked him as mine.

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After we had exhausted ourselves, I looked around the room. The bed was a mess. I wasn't sure where all of our clothes were. I knew we would have to clean the room before grandma got back but that didn't matter to me right then. All that matter to me was Paul. Laying on the bed to recuperate, Paul's arm was wrapped around me. Just as he went to kiss my neck, he stiffened up for a moment. "Paul...are you okay?"

"You...there's something different."

"Well, we did just have sex."

"That not what I mean."

He took a moment and actually sniffed me. "You smell...different. Not in a bad way but like something changed."

"Are you sure it's not the sweatiness to the air? The smell of 'sex' so to say?"

He was quiet. A look of contemplation cross his face. It made me want him all over again. "Before you get to thinking too much, we might want to clean up a bit before whenever Grandma gets back."

"We can wait."

"No being lazy mister. If we clean now, we can relax and look normal by the time she is home."

As much as I didn't want too, I got up to get dressed. Paul eventually joined me.

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We had just sat down in the living room to watch a movie when Grandma had walked through the front door. Once she came into the living room, she smiled to me. "Everything okay Grandma?"

"Everything is fine sweetie. Since you want to help out, we were trying to help think of ways to keep you safe. Sam was there so he had his input. I think all of the pack knows about you by this point."

"Not surprised. Secrets can't really be kept as a wolf."

"Well, after the long day I've had, I'm going to bed. Paul, you can stay longer if you want but no staying the night."

"No problem." he answered.

"Good night Grandma," both Paul and myself said.

"Good night you too."

Just another smile and she headed up the stairs.

As she was out of sight and hearing, I turned to Paul. We both had the same look on our faces. "You don't think she knows do you?"

"No Paul. But I have a feeling sooner rather then later she will know. Now...completely random here but do I still smell 'different' to you?"

"Yes. It definitely wasn't the smell of sex in the room before. I'm sure it's you. Just not sure why."

"It'll come to us eventually. But for now let's watch the movie."

I got comfortable with Paul wrapped around as we watched the movie.


	18. So the Wait Begins

As I woke up in the morning, all my memories of the night before came to me. I couldn't help but smile. It was just a little sad that I couldn't wake up to Paul. That would have been nice, just it wasn't possible in the situation. While I was getting showered, I couldn't help but think about Paul. I would have called, but he was doing something for the Pack.

As the rest of the morning passed, something felt odd. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I tried calling Liz, Kim, Emily, and Sophia, but everyone was busy. So instead of feeling lonely, I took the time to clean the house. I just blasted the radio and had fun with it. The house was pretty much spotless by the time that I was done. I felt proud of myself. It was a lazy day after the cleaning though. Not much to do. And no one to really do anything with at the moment.

Only after dinner did it change the monotony of the day. Someone had decided to call me. Took me a moment but I got to it in time. "Hello."

"Ellie...it's Sam."

"Hey. What's up?"

"We have a plan."

"Plan?"

"A plan for you to meet the Cullens."

"So what is it?"

"Come over to mine and Emily's place. We'll tell you when you get here."

"Kay."

"See you soon."

"Kay."

Hanging up, I went to find Grandma.

Surely enough she was in the living room watching the news. She had no idea I was there. I had to have some fun with it. Quietly, I made my way to being right behind her. I blew in her ear. She screamed and jumped about a foot off of the couch. "ELLIE!"

"Love you Grandma. I just had to do it."

"Love you too, even though you can be a troublemaker."

"Anyhow," I said, sitting on the couch, "I have to head to Sam and Emily's."

"For what?"

"Apparently they have a plan for a safe way for me to meet the Cullens."

"I still don't like the idea of you putting yourself in harm's way but I know I can't stop you."

"You know I love you Grandma. And as I said yesterday, I want to help protect this place. I will only be involved in the fight if it can be done safely."

"I know. I still worry though. I am your Grandma." She said with a smile.

With a hug, I grabbed my keys and was off.

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I knew, once I got inside, I would have to face the other imprints. They would surely know by now and I had no doubt that they would be there. And I was right. As soon as I stepped in the door, Kim, Emily, and Liz were right there. Liz stepped forward first. "Are you fucking crazy?"

"I can help."

"You could get killed."

"I won't."

"You don't know that."

"I will only be involved in the fight if it can be done safely. I am meeting the Cullens as a precaution. If that goes awry, I won't fight."

"You are not a wolf. You can get killed."

"I have fire on my side. I'm not being stupid about it. I want to do it safely. No one is going to change my mind."

"But..."

"No buts. La Push is my home, and if I can protect it, then I will."

She glared at me slightly. "You better not die. Or I will bring you back to life so I can kill you myself."

All I could do was hug her. "I'll hold you to that," I said with a laugh.

With a quick hug to Emily and Kim, I head to the kitchen, where I knew Sam, and surely the rest of the pack, would be.

Once there, Paul was instantly at my side. He didn't say anything. He kissed me and then wrapped his arms around me. So he wouldn't lose touch with me, he picked me up so I could sit on his lap at the table. Sam was sitting right across from us. "So you are still not backing down?"

"Nope. Not going to happen."

"Okay then. The Cullens have someone on their side that know how to fight these _newborns._ So tonight we are going to meet with them to see how they fight. Before that starts, we are going to introduce you to them. Paul, being as stubborn as he is, doesn't want you out of his reach."

"Sounds like him."

"Hey!"

"Love you Paul."

I could feel him playfully glare at me as Sam continued. "The plan, so there isn't a bunch of leeches around you at first, one will come forward. You, along with Paul, will meet that one in the middle, so neither side will feel like they could be harmed."

"So basically, if that one can tolerate me being near them, then it can be tested to see if the others can too."

"Exactly. One first and maybe then the others. So we need you to promise that you won't go making any dangerous choices. You need to be careful."

"Sam, I promise I will be as careful as I can. This isn't something I take lightly. But what about showing them what I can do?"

"If it goes well meeting them, then you can."

"When?"

"3am. So you'll need to keep rested. It's a strategy meeting. So any ideas you might have can be said there."

"No problem."

There was only one thing left that I wanted to do after hearing that.

Grudgingly against Paul's wishes, I stood from his lap. Almost as soon as I was on my own feet, I was on the other side of the table right next to Sam. By this point, all eyes were on me. I hugged him. I just wrapped my arms around Sam and hugged him. "Ellie..."

"Thanks Sam."

"For what?"

"You treat me like one of your own. I know you are only doing this because you care and I wanted to say thank you."

He cracked a smile and hugged me back. The only thing was he stiffened up slightly after a moment.

I pulled away and looked at him strangely. What the hell. Something was off. Sam stood up, got right up to me, and sniffed me. Even weirder. "You smell...different."

"Paul said the same thing."

He stayed still for a moment, thinking. A few moments later he finally spoke. "I...hmmm...I think I may know why. I remember something like this before. I just need you to answer one question honestly. Remember though, when we are wolves, secrets are hard to keep. If you don't tell me, either of you, Paul will surely let it slip at some point."

"Okay."

I had no idea where he was going with this. "You and Paul...have you...how do I put this without it being too much? Have you two...had sex?"

Oh. That's where he was going.

Didn't expect him to ask that, that's for sure. But he was right, it would be found out sooner or later. I nodded. No one seemed surprised. Some of the guys seem to be in approval. Sam seemed to understand something. "Well it happened with Liz and Embry, Kim and Jared, and Emily and myself. The only thing that it could be is to do with our wolf side. You are an imprint, a wolf's mate. So during that first time, it's like the wolf in us marks our 'mate' as another way of saying to others 'She is mine.' "

"So...is it a slight 'wolfy' smell?"

"Very slightly. But unnoticeable to humans."

My own comment struck a thought. "Sam...maybe this will be helpful."

"What?"

"With the whole vampire thing. Maybe, just maybe, I'll smell just enough like you guys that the vamps won't be tempted to attack me."

"Maybe. We'll have to see. But we are not taking any chances."

"So," I said turning to Emily, "Do you have any muffins left over from these guys?"

Shaking her head and smiling, Emily lead directly into the kitchen and showed me what was left over.

Only after I had one of Emily's delicious muffin, did I call Grandma and let her know what was going on. I didn't want her to have to worry. And she told me that whenever I got back home after the _meeting_ that she wanted me to wake her up. She wanted to know that I was okay. Having so much love from everyone made me want to cry.

.

.

Those few hours until the meeting made me restless. I just wanted to get the thing over and done with. I was distracted and nothing seemed to get me to sit down for very long. Everyone stayed there, except those who had patrol to run. I wanted to go out and have a run myself, but I was told not to. It was so frustrating.

There was only one point where I had any point of relaxation. Paul had his arms around me as we were all trying to watch something on TV. I couldn't pay attention. I even tried taking a nap. What surprised me was what happened next. Paul began to softly sing 'I've Got You Under My Skin.' He wasn't the best but it was nice. And something in that gesture, in the song, or who knows what, something about it made me unwind.

Slowly but surely, time passed and the meeting got closer. When it was time to leave, I gave some quick hugs to the girls. They wanted to speak but I wouldn't let them. I didn't want any sad thoughts. I was going to survive it. I had no doubt and I didn't want them thinking too much about what 'could' happen.

Being the last one outside, Paul was the only one left. Smiling, I knew he was to explain something. So I waited. "Ellie. I'm going to phase. When I do, you're going to have to climb on me. I'm..."

"You're my ride?"

"Pretty much."

"So get on with it then. I want this over with just as much as you do."

"One thing before I do."

He kissed me. Softly but enough to know that he was putting his feelings into. "I love you Eleanor, more then I could have ever imagined. Please, I'm begging you here, please be careful."

"I love you too. And, I promise."

The last words for the moment. The last words until after this meeting was over.

Paul took a few steps away, enough to be a safe distance. And so he phased. The second time I had seen him phase. And I'm sure it wouldn't be the last either. Not wanting to waste any time, there was no hesitation on climbing on Paul's back. My hands wrapped around him, holding onto his fur without hurting him. As soon as I was safe and stable, Paul took off. Surely it was going to be an interesting night.


	19. Testing the Water

_**It's been a while. I won't give you some long excuse. I won't deny that I've been neglectful of updating and getting this story going. I do apologize though. Now, I will move on with this story and I will finish it . Also, soon I will be re-doing Never Looking Back. It will be the same characters, same kind of story line, some of it will be the same. But I've come to realize that how it turned out it isn't exactly how I wanted it to be. Emmett didn't seem like Emmett. He was too much like Edward and that wasn't how I wanted it. I apologize for leaving that story for so long. This time I will do my best to finish it and to get it to work out a little better. So onto the story. Again, as I have said for my stories, I always accept constructive criticism. I want to make my stories better for readers, for you. So please, if you see anything you think could help the story, do not hesitate in letting me know.**_

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To say I wasn't a little nervous would have been a lie. I was nervous. But not in the way that everyone else would have thought. Not because I could be attacked. Not because someone could get hurt or killed if a fight happened. I was nervous because everyone would be watching every move I was going to make, both people I knew, and those that I didn't. It was just odd.

Paul slowed down to a stop. I was grateful. I didn't exactly feel like flying off and landing somewhere halfway up a tree. What surprised me was when he kneeled so I could get down. I lost my grip for a minute and slid off...onto my ass. Paul was immediately facing me. "Give me some sort of warning next time," I said with a laugh.

He smiled, well as much as a wolf can and licked the entire side of my face. What a shocker that was. "Eeewwww! Come on Paul. Now I have wolf slobber all over my face."

I couldn't help but laugh though.

There was a laugh in the distance. Must be the Cullens. With Paul right next to me, I walked into the field that would hold this meeting. I stayed with the wolves. I had no idea how this was going to go done and I couldn't exactly talk to the guys. There were a few tense moments. Complete silence. Definitely a little unnerving. My attention was going everywhere. I had to see what kind of options I had in case things went south.

Only when one of them stepped forward did I change my focus. Bronze hair, golden eyes, pale, and fairly tall. He seemed strained, tired, and worried. A good sign of needing to be laid that for sure. He smiled and a small laugh escaped his lips. Strange. "Hello there. I'm Edward Cullen."

"Eleanor Monroe. But please, call me Ellie."

"A pleasure to meet you, considering the circumstances."

"I could say the same."

He seems different. Oddly like he's from another time. "I've been told that before."

"What the hell?"

Seriously, what the hell? This was seriously fucking strange. A few of the Cullens laughed lightly. I'm sure it was my reaction. "I assume they didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" I asked turning to stare down the guys.

None of them looked me in the eyes.

Definitely feeling a little embarrassed for being forgetful. Still not sure what was happening, I turned back to Edward. "Some vampires have abilities. I happen to be able to read minds."

Oh, shit. "So you heard the whole 'he looks like he needs to be laid' thing?"

He nodded while everyone else laughed. Even the wolves laughed, or as much as they could really. I could feel the blood rushing to my face. Definitely a little embarrassing. "So..."I said as the laughing had died, "Let's get this over with. I'm a little nervous with everyone watching, not to mention a little embarrassed for some reason. Shall we do introductions then or just get straight to it?"

Nicely enough, introductions were done. Nice to put names to the faces. At least I wasn't the only human. Bella was there as well.

As I took a step forward, Paul followed my move. Edward nodded, encouraging me to go forward. All along Paul was growling lightly. But when we got to Edward, it got louder. Annoying considering nothing had happened and Edward wasn't doing anything. "Paul, he's not going to hurt me."

He growl as if to say, 'You don't know that.' I shook my head. "I do know that Paul. He has not made a move. And I'm sure he could smell me before I got here."

He still growled. "Paul, shut it. Seriously. The longer I talk to you the longer it takes to get this done."

He stopped his growled but he was still in a very defensive position.

Turning my attention back to Edward, I smiled. I apologized to him in my thoughts. He smiled back. "It's okay. I understand that he just wants to protect his imprint. And to be honest, I couldn't really smell you. I can smell you now but only slightly. The wolf scent is a little overpowering."

I had an idea. No one was going to like it mind you. "Paul, take a few steps back."

He didn't want to do it. "I will be okay. I will not get hurt. You will still be close by and...I can still protect myself. He tries to kill me and he will die too."

Paul very, very, begrudgingly, took a few small steps backwards. I wasn't going to back down and he knew that. I took one step closer to Edward. "What about now?"

"It's...odd. Very much different."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's a good thing. Your scent...I...nothing about it is screaming at me to attack. A kind of warm, ocean-like smell. But you have a slight wolfy smell of your own. No temptation at all."

"Can we try everyone else?"

I was ready for it. Edward nodded.

One by one, they came forward. Edward was always there and so was Paul. It was such a relief. Not a single one of them was tempted. There was absolutely nothing to worry about with the Cullens. I couldn't help but smile and wrap my arms around Paul's neck. "I'm sorry to interrupt but Sam tells me he wants you to show us what you can do."

"I can handle that. You might want to step away just a little bit. Don't want you to be in the crossfire."

He did as I suggested. Everyone else just disappeared to me. Focusing on some grass in front of me, I could feel the heat around me. I could feel the heat from Paul. Within an instant, there was fire. One singular spot which slowly grew bigger. The flames grew as tall as I was. "How can she..." I heard one of them say. And just as soon as the flames appeared, they were gone.

None of them seemed to be able to say anything. I am human. I wasn't supposed to be able to do anything like that. "You know what I can do. You've seen it. I want to help. La Push is my home. It is where I am meant to be. I will do anything in my power to protect this place, to protect the people I love. If you can all handle me being around, I'm sure these newborns can too. If there is any way that I can help without it causing trouble or a distraction, I want to do it. I have the ability to do something."

No one said a thing. Not one single thing. If I couldn't help then okay, I'd deal with it but I wanted some form of an answer. About a minute had passed before Carlisle had stepped forward. "Why do you feel so strongly about this?"

"I have never felt so accepted. I belong here. No place I have ever lived ever truly felt like home. Here does. Paul, Sam, Jacob, Seth, Leah, Jared, Embry, Quil: The people behind these wolves; Emily, Liz, and Kim; they accepted me with no questions. This town...I...I want to do what I can to protect the people I love, if it can be done safely. There is so much to my feelings that it's hard to put it in words."

"You might be able to help. Though not so much in the fight itself. If one of the newborns attacks you, you wouldn't be able to fend them off. It would be a distraction and very dangerous."

"I understand. But then could I do anything if I don't fight?"

"The fire will do well when we have to burn the bodies of the newborns. It will make the process so much quicker."

"I can do that. It may not be much but it is what I can do."

"We will have to hide you, disguise your scent before the battle. But it will work."

I could help but smile. It was a small bit. But it made me happy. I could help, in some small way.

There was no hesitation in my part when I leaned forward and just hugged Carlisle. I couldn't help it. Everyone was shocked. Carlisle even hugged me back. The pack wasn't so thrilled. I ignored it. "I know I can't do much but I wanted to help which ever way I could even if it isn't actually fighting. So thank you."

"I'm sure Paul will try to stop you from being close to the fight."

"He can say all the things he wants. But that doesn't mean a damn thing. Once my mind is made, it is supremely hard to make me change it. Almost impossible."

"The others might too."

"No one will stop me."

"I thank you for your trust, in not only myself but all of us. You have gotten close to us with no hesitation. You put so much trust in us not to hurt you."

"I see no reason not to. I don't go by stereotypes or stories or legends. You have shown me no reason not to trust you. And I thank all of you for giving me a chance, giving me the opportunity to help."

"As I am sure I speak for my family as well, you are very welcome."

I nodded and turned back to Paul, who was on edge.

Obviously, he was not liking me being so close. I just shrugged. He was still growling as I stood by him. Smacking him on the top of the head was the only thing I could really do. This caused the Cullens to laugh, as well as myself. As for the wolves, I'm sure they were telling Paul he was wrapped around my little finger. "Hey, you would be doing the same with your imprints." I directed to them, "Don't hate on him. He may be a jealous, overprotective fool but he's my fool. And I still love him no matter what."

And finally my part of it was over. I knew what I could do. And it was such a relief. But the night wasn't over with yet. There was still some 'training' for the guys to get.

I stayed with Paul, as Jasper stepped forward. He began talking. He had fought newborns before. It was hard to believe that the Cullens were as old as they were. But his stories were unbelievable. The way he spoke, with such eloquence, brought his words to life. But that wasn't the end.

Seeing them go after one another as if they were fighting an enemy, was incredible. A lot of the time, I couldn't always follow them. Their movements were so quick. The moments I could see where intense. Each was determined to 'win' the fight. Each held determination, strength, and a strong fierceness. I couldn't keep my eyes away from them.

How long we had been there, I could not say. All I knew was that at the end I was tired, but also excited and worried. Once it was over, I said goodbye and followed the wolves out into the forest once more. Paul stayed with me as the other left. As he kneeled, there was no hesitation in what he wanted. I climbed on. As he began running, I spoke softly but I knew he could hear me. "Thank you Paul. You gave me trust in letting me do this. You were protective. But you let me do it. You wouldn't have stopped me either way. But you agreed. Thank you. And let the others know I thank them too."

He howled. I took it as a 'They heard.' "I'll be worried during the fight, no matter how good the odds are in your favour. But I know you will do everything in your power to win, to get out of it alive. Know that when you are fighting, that I love you, and that I will love you for every day of my life. Keep that in mind. Fight, so that when you are done, you can come back to me."

He may not have been able to respond in words, but I know he heard me. I know that he would do everything within his power to protect the town, to protect me, to come home alive.


	20. It's the Wait that's Killer

**Just finished this chapter. Hopefully it's decent. I really have a good feel of where I want to go with the story. I'm trying to update more then I have been. Please, if you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, please let me know. I'm always happy to try and make my story better.**

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_**Wherever I go, wherever I'll be**_  
><em><strong>Oh, I just hope that you're thinking 'bout me<strong>_  
><em><strong>And that you don't<strong>_  
><em><strong>Doubt my love or feel lonely<strong>_  
><em><strong>Wherever you go, whatever you see<strong>_  
><em><strong>You're not alone, you never will be<strong>_  
><em><strong>Oh, baby, just know<strong>_  
><em><strong>Wherever you go is where I'll be<strong>_

_**~Wherever you go by A Rocket to The Moon~**_

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Just as soon as we stopped, I was on my feet. Almost instantly, Paul was himself again. Naked. I couldn't help but look him over as he put on some shorts. I could never get bored of looking him. "Like the view?" he said with a smirk.

"You don't know the half of it."

He smiled for a moment but then turned serious. Instantly he was by my side. "You just had to do this. I don't want you in harms way."

"I will be okay. I can take care of myself is something happens."

"Not if they're too fast for you to react."

"Paul, please. I won't get hurt. I know I will be okay. I have faith that you will do what you need to to come back alive. Have faith that I will too."

"Angel..."

"I have so much here to live for. So much to look forward too. If I didn't help but could have, I would feel absolutely horrible. I want to protect the life I have here."

"I just don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"I love you too Paul. You are the biggest part of my future. I am not going to let that go."

"Move in with me?"

Did he really just utter what I thought he did?

I couldn't move, I couldn't react. I didn't have any idea what to say. "I'm not saying right now. And I'm not saying you need to answer me right now either. But after graduation, move in with me?"

"Paul..."

"Please consider it."

"You wouldn't be saying this if the whole newborn thing wasn't happening."

"Right now no. But sooner or later I would have. I've saved money for a long time before I met you. My dad even gave me some too. I've wanted my own place. I haven't told you about it but I've been looking at a small house not too far from Sam and Emily's. I wanted to tell you about it once I got it. It's not huge but it would be enough for us. I can't get it yet, not until I'm 18 but once I do, it'll be mine. It'll be ours. Please, you don't have to answer me yet. You have a while. But please promise me you will at least think about it."

"Isn't it too soon?"

"In a normal situation maybe. But ours is different. We both know there is no one else for us, that we are meant to be together. So we have a different basis to work with."

"I..."

Nothing and I mean nothing could have prepared me for this. How could a normal person react to this? Nothing but I wasn't normal. Neither was he. Nothing about or relationship was. "This is a lot to take in. Especially with everything that is already happening. I love you Paul, so much more than I could have ever imagined ever loving someone. I...I'll...I will consider it."

The same in him was instantaneous. He went from looking like a child about to be reprimanded to that of supreme happiness. I didn't even have the chance to react when he hugged me. He just wrapped his arms around my waist and his face in my hair. "Thank you."

"I didn't say yes."

"But you didn't say no. I love you too. So much."

I couldn't believe it. It was just so much. He was so much. But he was mine and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Pulling away, I grabbed his hand and just walked to the house. I didn't know what else to say to him so I said nothing. We just walked. But as soon as we made it in on the porch, the door opened, and I was jumped on. By Liz. We both landed on the ground with a thud. "You're alive!"

"I told you I would be."

"But I didn't know. I was worried. Everyone was worried."

"Have faith young grasshopper."

I couldn't help but laugh at my own words. "Now...Liz, I love you and all but GET OFF ME!"

Thankfully she got off quickly. I was able to get up myself and head into the house.

Everyone else had arrived back to the house at that point. So it was only then that we explain the situation, what happened at the 'meeting' and what will happen at the fight. Everyone wasn't fond of my part. of me being involved but none of them had a choice. I wanted to do this and they were not going to change my mind. They knew that. So they were going to do whatever they could to make sure I would be as safe as I possibly could be. It was nice to see so many people that cared about me outside of my Mom, Grandma, and Sophia.

When I finally got home, I woke my Grandma up, like she asked me too. I explained to her the situation and what was going to happen. She didn't like it any more then the pack, but she accepted that I was going to do it anyway. She was glad that I was alive and okay. After the quick explanation, she went back to bed and I followed her lead. Sleep felt relaxing after the day I had.

.

.

.

The next couple of days were horrible. Not only did I have to worry about what was going to happen at the fight. I was dealing with it while at school, which wasn't a pleasant experience anyway. I was still getting bugged Marcus and his 'friends', including his girlfriend and what not. They were trying to get me alone and 'teach me a lesson'. But they never had the chance. I was always with someone from the pack. None of them would leave me alone. I was most definitely thankful for that.

Then on top of that, there were finals and all these end of year projects. And, last if not least, graduation. There was a bunch of info and preparation for that. Everything was just piling up at one. I could not wait until the fight was over with. And I certainly couldn't wait until I had graduated.

What the worst thing was on top of everything. I was think about what Paul had asked me. To move in with him. Did I really want to do it? Could we handle the bills? Could we live together? My mind, no matter what else I might have been thinking about would always lead back to Paul and his question. I didn't know what to do. It just seemed so soon to me. I always imagine that I would be with someone for a while before that. I never thought I would have had sex or had some ask me to move in so soon. Yes the situation was different and I knew that Paul and myself were meant to be together, but my mind was having trouble grappling with the situation and combine the thoughts. It was just too much to come to a decision with everything else going on.

.

.

And then the day arrived. Early in the morning, I was woken up by Paul. Grandma had apparently let him into the house. There was no time for distractions or conversations. I quickly got showered and dressed. Though I wasn't hungry, I ate quickly before getting ready to leave. "Eleanor, please, be careful. Please keep yourself safe."

"I promise you, I will be as safe as I can, as safe as the situation will allow me to be. And to make sure you will be kept in the loop, as soon as I can, I will call you. I will let you know I am okay."

"I'll be anxiously awaiting for your call."

"I love you Grandma."

"I love you too." she said while hugging me.

With a look from Paul, I knew we had to leave. "Take care of my grandbaby."

"I will Grandma," Paul replied.

"I'll see you later. I promise." I spoke softly.

She couldn't say anymore and neither could I. I didn't want to make things worse. So I gave her one last hug and headed out.

The entire ride to Sam's, I was quiet. I couldn't speak to Paul. I just couldn't really say anything at all. I just held his right hand as he drove. It was the physical contact from him that I needed. And it helped. There was no doubt that he was probably thinking about what was going to happen. He was going to be fighting, I was going to be nearby. He didn't want to leave me alone. I knew there was something going through his mind about want to protect me but also about his duty to protect La Push. It was hard for the both of us. But it was going to be over soon enough. It would have to end at some point.

Just as we reached Sam's house, only the imprints and Sam here there. Paul and I walked in to see everyone in the living room. As soon as Sam saw us, he stood up. "Paul, Ellie. You two ready?"

We nodded. Without making it hard on anyone, I smiled and said, "I'll see you guys later."

They smiled back with tears in their eyes. No one wanted to say anything in case they started crying. I headed right back outside. Sam followed Paul and myself shortly after.

There was a want to say something but I didn't know what. I stood waiting for one of them to say something first. It was Sam. "We are going to take you a safe distance from the field. We created a spot where you will be hidden. You will need to stay as quite as you can. When the fight is over, one of us will come to get you. We will call out your name so you know it is us. If you hear anything or anyone else, stay put. We will call to you. Keep safe."

"As long as I stay in this hidden spot, I will be okay right?"

"There is no reason that you shouldn't be. Paul will carry you, as a human. Even though your scent is 'different' we still want to try and mask it as much as we can. As soon as we get you there, we will have to leave."

"Okay. Let's get this show on the road then shall we?"

Sam ran into the forest. I turned to Paul and he picked me up bridal style. I just leaned into him as he started running.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived. To what seemed like just an ordinary spot in the forest. Sam was waiting for us. "Ellie," Sam started just as I got on my own two feet, "I'm sorry I can't give any more details. Time is of the essence and we need to leave. Just stay hidden until one of us comes to get you."

"Okay."

I turned to Paul and hugged him. "I love you Paul, remember that. Use that thought to make sure you come out of this alive. Just as you said to me, I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"We'll both come out of this alive."

"Yes. Yes we will."

There was nothing else that we could say. Nothing to help ease the trouble we would feel. For one last bit, I kissed him with all I had in me. There was something to the kiss, something different. There was an edge of danger, of worry that we might not see each other again. I couldn't think about that. I had to keep myself positive otherwise I would lose my mind.

Pulling away, Paul and Sam showed me to an area of a tree that was partially hollow. An area of the ground around it was deeper than it should have been, like it had been dug out. The whole space was big enough for me to be in comfortably. Placing myself in the hollow, Paul and Sam covered the area, so I was hidden as much as possible. It was going to be hard but it would have to be done. I heard them phase and they were gone just as soon. And then the wait began.


	21. Pushed to Exhaustion

**This chapter was getting me stuck. I knew what I wanted here, I knew where I wanted it to go, but I just couldn't get the words quite right. I didn't want to wait too long to get this out either. It's not the best but I would say it's decent. I have the next one planned in my head, so hopefully that one will go better. Any ways...here's the story. :)**

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**_I don't want your pity_**

**_So don't feel sad for me_**

**_I've got a love I would die for and a song to sing_**

**_Maybe we're both just living out our dream_**

**_~Grow up by Paramore~_**

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Torture. That was what it seemed like to me. Every second seemed like hours. Waiting and waiting. There was no way to tell how things were going. Were the newborns strong and putting up a good fight? Was there enough people to overcome the newborns? Was Paul okay? I wanted to know. I wanted someone to find me and tell me everything was okay.

If I was with the other imprints, I would have someone with me. Someone to lean on. But I made my choice. I wanted to help and I wanted to be there. My decision had been made and there was no taking it back. No matter where my thoughts lead me, I would always end up going back to Paul. I couldn't lose him. Every single fiber of my being wanted to be there with him. But it just wasn't going to happen.

Every so often, I would hear noises. I would freeze up, waiting to see what the origin was. Nothing came close to me. I head no one calling my name. None of the guys were coming for me. Yet something felt off. Something just wasn't right. With a unexpected appearance, it was like there was someone running past. Fast and sudden. Multiple people. The only meaning to me: the newborns had traveled past me.

The instant I suspected what it was, I was quiet. I didn't move. I barely breathed. I had no idea what I would do if I was attacked but I had to be ready. I had to fight back if I had to. My fire. If I had to use it, it was there. Sure I knew that something could have happened. There was always a thought of danger. But never did I think I would be right there surrounded by it, alone.

Slow and agonizing. I just wanted them gone. I wanted to be alone. But if I did anything, I would be attacked. I would most likely be killed. Slowly the noise disappeared. Slowly they passed me by. When the last of it was gone, I let out the breath I was holding. Bad idea. Really, really bad. Almost instant, something was near me. At least one had heard me. I could feel my heart beating faster. It probably heard that too.

The agonizing wait was gone. Terror replaced it. Just as soon as _it_ stopped, my cover had been ripped away. What stood in front of me was a boy. A little younger than me. Short brown hair, bright red eyes. He just stood there staring. Not moving, only breathing. "You're human?"

I could move. I just chose not to. The vampire could catch me and kill me before I got even two feet. "I heard your heart. But...you don't...you don't smell like food."

I said nothing. But I knew if I did nothing, I would be dead before anyone could find me. I had to take the pre-emptive strike. Just as soon as my thoughts came to it, he was on fire. Within a second, he was completely covered in flames, and screaming like nothing I had ever heard.

Focus. That was what I needed and that was what I did. The more focused I became, the hotter the flames became. He had no idea where it came from, so he had no clue that it was me. That was what probably saved my life. If he had any idea that it was me, he would have killed me. And what seemed like out of nowhere, he stopped screaming. His body just completely fell apart. Ashes. Just a big pile of ashes.

I had to get out of there. My hiding spot had been discovered. I didn't know where I was going to go but I had to leave. I ran, or at least I went too. Maybe ten feet from the tree another one appeared. This time it was an older woman than the first boy, late twenties maybe. The same red eyes. No time to waste. She was in flames immediately. She didn't know it was me either. Her screams pierced the air. Surely someone else had heard it. Just as she turned to ash, I was gone. All I could do was run. I saw nothing of my surrounding. The trees, the animal, the grass, absolutely nothing stuck in my mind. All I knew was I was going to get away.

I was wrong. So very wrong. I went the worst way I could have. I ended up in the field where the fight was happening. The few Newborns that were left turned their attention to me. Before any of them knew what was happening, before I could understand it, I was surrounded by fire, like it came from me but didn't touch me. It completely covered me. Within that same instant, the first just exploded completely incinerating the newborns that surrounded me. The last thing I remembered was Carlisle at my side.

Surely it was only momentary that I was out. When I opened my eyes again, I was in Paul's arms but still in the field. The pack, as humans at that point, were carrying a naked Jacob. "Paul..."

"Ellie. Are you okay?"

"Just...exhausted. Jacob...what happened?"

"When you were out, a rogue leech went after Leah. Jacob went to help and got hurt."

"Will he..."

"Paul," Carlisle had appeared, "Can you take Ellie along with Jacob? I want to make sure she's okay as well when we get done here."

Paul nodded but, knowing him, he wasn't entirely comfortable with it. "Carlisle, do you not need me than?"

"You've done enough Ellie. You blacked out. We can't have you doing anything else in fear that you might push yourself too much. Paul is going to take you to Jacob's house. When we are done here, I am going to meet you all there to help him and you. You both need to leave now. The Volturi are almost here."

"Volturi?"

"I'll explain later. We don't have time."

Paul moved taking me away from Carlisle, away from the field and the rest of the Cullens.

I wanted to talk. I wanted to ask questions. But my body wouldn't let me. Paul's body heat overtook everything else. Pulling myself closer to him, I fell asleep. The exhaustion and his body heat just got to me. Once more, I was out like a light.

.

.

It was dark. At least when I opened my eyes, it didn't blind me. Paul was still holding me. But I had no idea where we were. My mind just wasn't connecting. "Paul."

He smiled down at me. "Hey there sleepyhead. Feeling okay?"

"A little better. Where are we?"

"Billy and Jacob's house. Carlisle is just re-breaking Jacobs bones."

"What?!"

"With our healing, Jacob's bones weren't healing in the right way. He had to re-break them to set them right. As soon as...

"Carlisle will be coming to check me over when he's done?"

He nodded. I just snuggled closer to his chest. Too damn comfortable to want to move.

Only when Carlisle came into the room, did the others as well. Carlisle smiled slightly as he came to me and Paul. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired but generally okay. Might be better once I get some food in me."

"I'm going to have to look over you. Make sure there are no physical injuries. I'm going to need you to sit up."

Begrudgingly, I sat up.

A few minutes had passed and I was back in Paul's arms again. No injury, showing or not. My only problem was exhaustion. All the while that he checked me for injury. He explained what the Volturi. Like a vampire royalty. The thought of it was odd it me. I thanked him when he was done. He left just after. The pack stayed in the room though. Sam was the first to speak. "What were you thinking Ellie? You could have been hurt."

"I had no choice."

"You promised you would try and be safe! You..."

"Don't you even dare yell at me. If you would stop and fucking listen, I had no choice. I was found out."

And so I explained what happened.

Surely a bit of a surprise. Surely no one had expected that to happen. But what had happened, had happened. No sure in worrying now. It was also a good thing that the redhead that had been after Bella was dead. We'd have no trouble from her again. "Sam, can I borrow a phone? I want to call Grandma."

"She's already on her way. She should be here soon. With what happened with you and Jacob, she wanted to be here. And I'm sorry. I didn't let you explain."

"No worries Sam. I'm already over it. Other than the incident with Jacob, everyone's okay though. No one else on our side got hurt?"

"No."

I just nodded. I was relieved. "I..."

"Ellie!"

I turned to the voice. "Grandma!"

I stood up but only so I could hug her. When she hugged me, it was tight. She didn't want to let go. When she did, everyone else but Paul had left the room. "Are you okay?"

"Just tired Grandma."

She gave me that look. "Ellie?"

"Carlisle looked at me. I'm physically fine. It's exhaustion."

And once more I explained my side of what happened.

Smiling, my Grandma turned to Paul. There was no telling what she was going to do. The smile still on her face, she hugged Paul. "I know it's not your fault for leaving her where she was. Don't blame yourself for that. She may be exhausted now, but she will be stronger for the situation. She is strong when you are with her."

"I..."

"Just keep doing whatever you are doing with her. She loves you.

"I love her too."

"Ellie, I grab you something to eat. I'll be right back. Just rest okay."

I nodded, leaning into Paul.

It was a strange day. That was for certain. Jacob would heal. There's no doubt about that. And no one on our side died. That was a relief. But the whole situation made me want to talk to my mom and Sophia. Even though my mom knew about the wolves, didn't mean she knew about this fight. I wanted to hear them. And when it was the morning, I would. I would make sure of that.


	22. Time to Relax

**I'm so proud of myself. YAY1 I've been getting my stories going and update a lot faster than I thought. The storyline is going were I want it too and some new idea just keep popping up so that makes it better for me. I'm excited for it. So as it now goes...here is the story!**

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_**Yeah we're happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time**_

_**It's miserable and magical oh yeah**_

_**Tonight's the night when we forget about deadlines**_

_**~22 by Taylor Swift~**_

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Waking up in the morning, I no longer felt exhausted. It was refreshing. But at the same time, I was a little frustrated. Jacob got hurt and I couldn't help more than I did. At least the fight was over. As soon as I was awake enough, I grabbed my cell phone. First call. My mother. It rang a few times before she picked up. "Ellie?"

"Hey mom. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Just eating breakfast before heading to work. And you?"

"Better."

"Better?"

"Grandma explained about the legends..."

"Being real? Yes she told me. She also told me that Paul imprinted on you."

"He did."

"Are you okay? He didn't do anything right?"

"No. He's been good. It's just been a long weekend. You're alone right, no one else is around?"

"No. It's just me."

And thankfully I had someone other than the pack and the imprints to talk to. I was glad my mother was allowed in on the secret.

No surprise that she was shocked. But she was just happy that I survived. And interested that I was able to put the fire around myself without it hurting me. I didn't quite understand it but I knew it saved my life. She explained that her and Sophia were ready for my graduation. Everything was ready for them to come. I was excited. I couldn't wait to see them again. Sophia kept talking with my mom too, marking sure everything was good.

It was talking to my mom that made me feel a little bit better. It was just a relief. When I eventually hung up with her, Sophia with right next on the list. Talking to her was the usual. Very entertaining. But the thing with her, was she asked about Seth. She had been talking to him on the phone and even though he was younger, she liked him. But she felt odd because he was younger. I couldn't say much but I didn't try and urge her in the direction of Seth without actually saying it.

There was only one thing I wanted to do. So I picked up my phone one last time. I dialed the number and waited. "Hello?"

"Hey Emily."

"Ellie. How are you feeling? Sam explained what happened."

"I'm better. I feel good. No exhaustion now."

"That's good."

"I was wondering if the girls were going to be there today."

"They never left. They're still here. They're sleeping though."

"Mind if I come over?"

"You know you never have to ask. You can come anytime."

"Thanks. I just kind of feel like having a girl day. I could bring a few things over and we can just relax. Watch some movies or something."

"I'm sure the girls will love that."

"I'll see you soon then."

I could imagine the smile on her face. We hung up.

It didn't take long for me to shower. I just wanted to be there. It was Sunday, the last day before the last week of School, of tests, tests and more tests. We all just needed that time to kick back, especially after the fight. Grabbing a bag, I grabbed a few movies. Before I headed out, I found Grandma in the Kitchen. "Hey. You feeling better?"

"Much. I'm heading to Sam and Emily's, kind of had a girls day. Kim and Liz are still there."

"Sounds like fun."

"It'll be nice after last night and before this coming week."

"Just relax. Don't push yourself too much."

"Don't plan on it."

I gave her a hug and headed out. Though before I headed to Sam and Emily's I headed to the store. Just needed a few items.

The familiar sight of their house was nice. No hesitation. I just had the stuff in hand and walked into the house, into the kitchen. Just as my hands were free, I was tackled to the ground. "Ellie!"

"Liz."

"I'm glad you're okay."

"I'd be better if I wasn't just tackled to ground." I said with a laugh.

She just smiled and got up. With a hand out, she offered me help. Once on my feet, I hugged her. "I wouldn't go down without a fight. You should know that by now. Now...it's time to get Kim and Emily in here. We are having a girls day. No backing out. No questions asked."

"I..."

"Ellie!"

Once again, I was almost tackled to the ground. This time it was Kim. Emily was just behind her. "No more tackling, please? So...is it just us here or are any of the guys here?"

"Sam, Paul, Embry, and Jared. Embry and Jared go on Patrol soon. Leah and Seth are about to get off. Sam and Paul were just talking."

"So...let's get this started then."

I dumped out the bag, spilling everything purposely.

Just as we were sorting out a plan of sorts, someone came through the door. Paul and Sam. First thing I did? Ran to Paul and jumped on him. This time someone else was knocked to the ground. "Ellie."

"You know you love it Paul."

He smirked. With that smirk still playing on his lips, he whispered, "I'd love you on top of me anytime sweetheart."

"Paul!"

"You know you love it Ellie."

He leaned up and kissed me. Had we been alone, it might have gone on. We didn't need an audience.

Paul had us both up and on our feet before I could move. Sam who was now standing with his rms around Emily, was smirking. "You heard that didn't you?"

He nodded. I couldn't help but blush. "So what are you doing here?" Sam asked, "Not that I don't mind."

"Wanted a girls day. So do what you need to do but I am...well, actually we are stealing your fiancée for the day."

He just smiled.

It wasn't long before two more came in the room, Leah and Seth. Seth was smiling, Leah...not so much. "Hey Seth. I hear things with Sophia are doing okay."

"You talked to her?"

He was just so adorable. He really cared about her. It was cute.

"This morning. She a little unsure, being that you are younger, but she does like you."

His smile got even bigger, if that was even possible. I turned to Leah. "Hey."

She just looked at me, a slight smile poked through for a moment. "Leah, we plan on having a girls day here. Got some movies, some snacks, some games and what not. You're more than welcome to join us if you want. Got plenty of supplies."

She didn't say anything, at first. She walked over to me and hugged me. With a whisper, even I could barely hear, "Thanks but I can't. It's just too hard to be around her."

"Well, then in place of it, sometime we should just hang out. Me and you. We could do whatever you want."

"Sure."

"After graduation? Like on the Monday after?"

She nodded. As she walked away, I could have sworn that she there was a tear in her eye.

Just when she left the room, all eyes were on me. Surely it was because no one had seen Leah act like that in a long time. "I like Leah. She's...different. In an odd way but not bad."

"We haven't seen her hug someone other than her family in a long time."

"I think she feels judged."

"But we don't judge her." Emily said, with a sadness in her voice, "We love her. All of us do."

"Surely she knows that. But it's got to be tough for her being around you all the time, see you have what she once had, and I'm sure the guys don't see it from her point of view, making it hard on her. She probably feels like she been judged and labeled as the 'pathetic ex-girlfriend'. I don't see her through pity or have some preconceived notion about her. I just see her as a girl who needs a friend."

"We..."

"I'm not saying that anyone does feel that way about her or treats her in that manner, but she probably feels that way."

It seems that awkward silences really seemed to like me. I'd been around them enough.

Time to break the awkwardness. I skipped over to the table where the supplies were situated. Turning back to everyone, I said, "Sam, I'm sure the guys will be disappointed to hear this but since Emily is stuck with us for today, she will not have time to make anyone food. She is getting a break as well."

"But..." Paul started.

"No buts mister. No messing with the Firestarter today. I don't know how, but I'd kick some wolf butt if necessary. Now, Paul, Sam, Seth, you all need to leave. We need to start our girls day. Now out." I said while point to the door.

Sam said his goodbye to Emily as Paul came to me. "Do I really have to leave?"

"Yes Paul."

"But I want to spend time with my girl."

"Don't go starting that. I'm not giving in."

"But..."

"We'll see each other during the week, but after our graduation on Friday, we can hang out on Saturday. I'd be yours all day."

"I'll take what I can get."

"Now..." I kissed him, "Get out."

"I feel the love," he said walking away.

"You'll feel more than that upside your head if your keep procrastinating."

I looked his way, until he left the room. Turning to the girl, I smiled. "Let's get this started then."

And so we did.

.

.

First was a movie. Ended up being Beauty and The Beast. While I watched it, it was almost ironic in a way, for us imprints. I may not have done it so much myself, but the others sang along to most of it. Quite entertaining really. That wasn't the end of it. But before we could watch another movie, it was time for lunch. Hamburgers and chips. Fairly quick and easy.

As we were eating, the other were talking. My mind wandered a little bit. To Paul. To his question. I still didn't what my answer was going to be. Surely enough, they notice my quietness. "Ellie," Liz spoke, "You okay?"

"Just thinking."

"About what? And don't say nothing. You have that serious face going on."

"I...it's about Paul."

"Not having problems are you?"

"No. It's not that at all. Actually, he talked to me before the fight. He said it wouldn't be until after his birthday, cause he could then he could actually buy the house..."

"Just spit it out girl."

"He's buying a house when he turns 18, and he asked me to move in with him when he does."

That got some looks.

They didn't expected. That was a definite. I just looked at them, waiting to see what they were going to say. It didn't take long. Kim spoke first. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. He said, before I could answer anything, that he didn't expect an answer then. He wanted the question asked, just wanted me to think about it."

"Do you want to? That's the question." Liz added.

"Yes...no...I don't know."

"What's holding you back?"

"I know I should have gotten used to everything by now but it's weird. Before the I ever learned of anything supernatural, I always had this image that I would take my time. I thought it'd probably be like a year or two or something like that before the moving in, before anything like that. I always had this image in my head. But because of the imprint everything seems to be happening sooner."

"But you love him."

"With every fiber of my being. But growing up with a certain idea, and then this one thing just changes it, it's a lot to think about. I..."

"You love him. We know that. You know that. You know that you are going to be with him for the rest of your life right?"

I nodded. "He's the only guy you will be with. He loves you and you love him. If you know you would move in with him eventually, and he's already got a house in mind, why not. He's taken the chance to get a house for the both of you. That's got to mean something. Your grandma knows about the wolves, so does your mom. And Sophia will too soon enough. Everyone who matters will know you will be together for the rest of your lives, so don't say anything about someone who matter thinking it's too early. I say just do it."

I couldn't speak. I didn't know what I needed to hear when I told them, but what she said was it.

Not showing what I felt, I stood from my seat. I walked. Not too far but far enough. Without her really knowing, I just hugged her. It took a second but she hugged back. "Thank you."

"I..."

"I had no idea what I needed to hear when I told you all, but you said it."

"You're going to do it?"

"Yes."

"YAY!" she squealed in my ear.

All of us laughed at Liz. It was too funny not to.

Once I sat back down, the rest of lunch went by rather nicely. The whole day went by great. More talking, more movies. We even played a few bored games. It was nice to have that time with the girls. I just couldn't wait until Sophia was there and she could join us. They already met her and seemed to like her in that brief time. I'm sure she'd do just fine here. I even figured when I was going to tell Paul. I had the perfect moment planned.


	23. Graduation Has Arrived

**Yay! Another one! Soo about the bit of a delay. There was some yard work I had to do. I have some trees, I had started from Apple seeds, that were in pots. It was time to put them in the ground. They're alive still so yay! I've notice something, as I'm sure some of you may have too. Paul, in my story, is older then in the actual story. I always pictured him as being older. Also, so it is noted, Seth is a year older than he is in Eclipse too. Just kind of how it happened to work in this story. I don't own Twilight, though I wish I did. Anywho...here's the story**.

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_**Now let's not waste our time**_

_**Now let's just make the most of every breath we take**_

_**The most of every second we're alive**_

_**Can't you see the world is on their feet for you and me?**_

_**And it's alright, you've got me**_

_**'Cause even when I'm gone, I'll never leave**_

_**~Standing Ovation by Good Charlotte~**_

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School again. The last week of high school. It was going to suck for the testing aspect. But at the same time, I was excited to get the week over with. So getting ready for school was easy enough. Was going to meet up with the guys as usual. Didn't exactly work out that way. I parked and headed inside. Not too far from where I was headed, I was stopped.

Marcus. And his band of followers. Great. Not exactly how I planned my day to start. Before I had a chance to walk away, I was surrounded. There was no chance for me to _run_. "Marcus."

"Eleanor."

"So what's this about? A new plan to try and humiliate me?"

"Not exactly. I still have people talking about what you did to me. I got in trouble because of you. I..."

"The trouble you got in was because of yourself. If you didn't go after me, you would be in trouble now."

We had an audience at this point. "It's your..."

"Say what you will. You started it by hitting on me and insulting me friends. Then when I turned your advance away, you decided to try and come after me. If you weren't such a horn-dog, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"Are you trying to make this worse for yourself?"

"I'm assuming at this point that you are going to try and beat me up. You can go ahead and try. You won't win. Take the first punch. Try me. But no matter what you do, I will be the one to finish it. I may be a girl, but there is so much more to me than you know. You hit me first, and when I kick your ass if will be called self-defense."

"You little bitch."

"I'm not afraid off you Marcus. I've faced much worse adversaries than you. You're nothing."

Apparently that was the last straw.

Marcus came to me and punch me. Right in the cheek. Missed his target surely. I stumbled backwards as he readied himself for another attempt. I caught his fist before it got close. I twisted his arm, causing him to turn with it. When I let go, he fell, only to get right back up. He ran towards me, as if to tackle me. I was able to keep my balance just enough so I stayed on my feet. Luckily, I was able to quickly get my knee into his chest, causing him to let go. While on his knees, I went to give him one last kick. He grabbed my leg, knocking me down. Just as soon as he did, he was on me.

He took too long in his time to try and hit me. It gave me the opportunity to knock his balance and turn the situation. This time, I was on top. I was able to get two good hits in before someone pulled me off. The warmth told me it was one of the guys. When I stood straight, I saw it was Paul. By that point a teacher had come around. "What is going on here?" he said looking at me.

No point in lying. I explained to him what happen. Once said, I waited next to Paul as the teacher asked a few students what they saw.

The teacher took Marcus and myself to the principal office, where I once again explained my story. Marcus tried to say something else but my story matched up with that of the spectators. His story didn't. So once again, all I got was a 'don't do it again or you will be in trouble' speech. He on the other had did. Nothing too much considering we were graduating and it seemed they wanted him out of the school as much as everyone else did. Caused too much trouble.

Up until lunch, I had a couple of people complimenting me. Apparently a few people had wanted to do that for a while. Turns out a girl had to do it first. He had a black eye and busted lip. Looked pretty bad according to what I was told.

Finally getting to lunch, I grabbed my food first and headed to the pack. Sitting between Paul and Seth, I put my food down. "Damn Ellie! You sure got a punch. Remind me not to mess with you."

"Ha ha Embry. You know you guys are like rocks. I'd break my hand punching you."

"Yeah. Probably wouldn't feel a thing."

"Well we could always test that theory." I said, my smirk playing through.

"No. Both of you. I'd like to have my girlfriend all on one piece here."

"Yay, Paul. I feel the love!"

"Damn right!" he said with a kiss.

And lunch continued on as normal.

When it was just about to end, Paul and myself had started off on our own. Just a little bit of time on our own. "Ellie, I..."

"What is it Paul?"

"Have you considered my question?"

"You mean about moving in with you?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I'm still thinking. Not saying yes. But I'm not saying no. It is a big step."

"I just want to know that you're keeping it in mind."

"I am. I love you Paul. No matter the case in my decision, that's not going away."

"I know."

What he didn't know was that I had already made my decision. I just wanted to wait to tell him. Not too long. I had a plan.

.

.

Up until the end of Wednesday, there was testing, testing, oh and more testing. Thursday happened to be preparation and a practice run for the actual ceremony. So seniors had no classes. Once the practice was over, it was time to go home. And I was majorly excited. It was before noon and my mom and Sophia were supposed to be there. I wanted to see them. I couldn't wait.

Getting home was exciting. I saw a car in the driveway, presumably a rental. They were there. They had to be. I barely even parked before I was out of the vehicle. I barely even remembered to grab my bag. The instant I was in the door, I was tackled to the ground. Happened a lot with her. "Ellie!"

"Sophia...why do you have to always tackle me."

"You know you love it."

"Can you get up please? I'd really like to keep my internal organs working."

Just as soon as we were both on our feet, my mom was right there. I hugged her. "Looks like your cheek has healed up."

"Almost normal."

"Well...since you are home now, we have a plan to go out and get something to eat. A little celebration of sorts."

"Can't argue with that."

It was just so nice to see them. To have that time. Soon enough Sophia would be coming up to La Push after her graduation. Soon enough after that, I'm sure she would know the secret. Wouldn't have to hide it anymore. The only thing I was worried about what telling her my secret. I didn't want her to be mad at me for not tell her sooner.

The lunch was nice. Just talking and seeing if anything new was happening. It was relaxing and it meant that I was just one day away from graduating. IT was a really good feeling. It would have been so much easier if Sophia knew the truth. But she would soon enough that much I knew. I knew I couldn't tell her the wolves secret but I could tell her mine eventually. Just not now. Just not in public.

Once home though there was something else. Sophia was tired enough that she needed to take a nap. This gave me time to talk to my mother and Grandma about something. As we sat in the living room, I was between the two of them. Grandma, of course, knew something was up. "Just go for it Ellie. What is it?"

"You always know these things."

"When it is my family, yes I do."

"I...I've already made my decision but I wanted to let you know what it is first."

"Eleanor..." My mom said softly.

"It wouldn't be for a little while, until he turns 18. But Paul...he found a house near Sam and Emily's. He can buy it when he's 18. He...he asked me to move in with him."

Mom was shocked. Grandma, not so much.

Grandma hugged me. A big smile was on her face as she pulled away. My mom, she just sat there, staring at me. "Ellie," Grandma started, "When did he ask?"

"Before the newborn attack."

"Are you ready for this? Do you think that you two can handle this?"

"Mom, I love him. He loves me. The imprint helped in that, yes, but even if there were no wolves, or anything like that, I think we would have gotten together anyway. It also is cementing that there is no one else out there for me. He is the one I'm meant to be with. So why no go for it. It'll happen anyways."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, mom."

"Understanding everything, him being what he is, your connection, and knowing you...I'll support you."

"Thank you."

Before she could stop me, I hugged her.

Just having her support, along with Grandma, felt good. She wasn't going to judge or try and stop me. She just wanted me happy. "Have you told him?"

"Not yet, but I have a plan for it. After graduation. So when you see him while you're here, don't mention it to him. I want it to be a surprise."

"What about Sophia?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where is she going to stay when you move in with him? I mean she is supposed to be staying during the summer."

"I..."

"If she can't stay with them, depending on the size of the house," Grandma started, "She is still welcome to stay with me. She is an imprint herself."

"What? Who?"

"Do you remember Seth Clearwater, Mom? It's him. But she doesn't know about anything yet. So you can't say anything. He has to tell her."

That conversation, lead to others but not quite so related to the Wolves.

..

Nothing so exciting as getting ready for a graduation ceremony. I wasn't really nervous. I was going to graduate, not like I had to pass a test or anything. I was more excited than anything. I was finally done with high school. All I had to do was wait through a ceremony and get my diploma. My mom was the one that was acting emotional. The whole 'my baby's growing up' thing. Sophia, while I was getting ready, was hanging out with Seth. The moment that I saw them together was really cute. They were both just laughing and smiling. There were these gentle touches from both of them. I couldn't wait for them to get together.

Once at the school, I met up with the guys. Paul and myself were the only ones graduating, but the others had all come to support us. Being there was a small distance in our names, Paul and I only had a little time to talk. "You ready for this?"

"Sweetheart, I've killed vampires. I can handle a little graduation."

"I love you Paul."

"I love you too."

"Now, let's get this over with. We can celebrate after. Besides, in this brief moment left, I need to talk to Sophia."

"See you after."

"Couldn't push me away." I said with a kiss.

Only then did I turn to Sophia.

I took her a distance away from Paul. I didn't want him to hear this. Sophia was a little curious as to my action. She was giving me that look the entire time we were walking. "Okay, so what is it? And why is it that you have to pull me away from everyone to tell me?"

"I don't want Paul to hear this."

"Ellie..."

"It's nothing bad. I just wanted you to hear it from me. It won't after for a little bit. Not until the 25th, his birthday. But a few days ago, Paul asked me to move in with him."

"WHAT!? You only tell me this now."

"I only just made my decision recently. He said I didn't have to answer him right then. That he wanted me to consider it. I was going to tell him after graduation."

"You're going to?"

I nodded. "You're sure about it? And his birthday?"

"He turns 18 June 25th. He found a house near Sam and Emily's place. He's saved money and apparently his dad has help him too. He can buy it once he turns 18. And yes, I'm sure. I love him, so much. I can't see my life without him."

"But now? So soon?"

"I know it would happen anyway. Why not do it now. Like I said, I don't see myself without him. I know, I'm meant to be with him."

She looked thoughtful for a moment and then just hugged him. "I'll go with it. You are my sister. But I will be having a conversation with him later."

"I'd love to see that." I said with a laugh.

With just one more hug, we headed back to the others before I had to go and get seated for the ceremony.

.

.

The ceremony, which really wasn't that long, seemed to drag on. Just wanted it to be done with. There were a few funny comments here and there. Wanting us to think about our futures and where we were headed. But I knew where I was meant to be. I knew where I belonged. My future was set, and I was looking forward to it.

Paul's name was called before mine. I cheered him on as he walked the stage to get his diploma. He had the biggest smile on his face. I was smiling right back at him. When my name was called, my smile was still there. I ran up on stage and did the formal thing. The whole shaking hands, getting the diploma, and the turning of the tassel. What I did after that shocked some people. I raised my hands in the air and yelled, "I'M FREE!"

Couldn't help but laugh along with some crowd. I was rushed off the stage at that point. Like I was going to disagree with them.

Getting to my seat, I held my diploma close to me. The wait until the end wasn't that long. Finally it was announced. "So...Congratulations to the class of 2006!"

While everyone else went crazy, I went for Paul. He pulled me into a hug as soon as he was in arms reach. "It's finally over! We graduated Angel!"

"We did."

And he kissed me. When I pulled away, I spoke just one word. "Yes."

"What do you mean yes?"

I didn't say anything. I just looked at him, trying to convey what I meant. It took him a moment. "Wait? You will? You'll move in with me?"

I nodded. His smile could not have been any bigger. He picked me up and span me around. Once on my feet, he grabbed my cheeks and just kissed me. So much was in that kiss. "You don't know how happy you just made me."

"You're so happy, it was like you proposed."

"One day."

I couldn't help but smile. "Oh, be pre-warned. Sophia will want to talk to you. I told her you asked me."

"Oh damn. The wrath of Sophia."

Just one more kiss before we headed out and over to our family. The ceremony was over but the day still had a bit left to go.


	24. A New Face

Sorry it took a moment to get this out. My Uncle got married again. I have realized that I haven't mentioned the people who have reviewed this story. I want to thank those that have reviewed it. These people, some reviewed more then once, are those that have left reviews since I started this story:

**Katara Melody Cullen . ozlady80 . Kikihoran . Werewolflover98 . momoXvolturi . IlovefuckingJocob . awesomeami316 . Loverofgoodstories27 . dallo33 . RougeReaper . VballBabe44 . FLSweet82 . BlueEyedCountryGirl . MakaylaLahote**

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So Thanks to those people. I do appreciate your reviews, even if I don't always get back to you. I'm going to try and do better on that.

And to those that have favourited or followed this story, I thank you as well. I didn't forget about you either. So that this isn't taking too much longer to get up, I will be putting those names up in the next chapter.

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So enough of my note here, time for the story.

...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...~...

_**We can sing right along with the thunder**_  
><em><strong>We can be who we wanna be<strong>_  
><em><strong>And we'll never have to worry or wonder<strong>_  
><em><strong>The only thing we gotta believe<strong>_  
><em><strong>Is that we'll live while we're young<strong>_

_**~Wild and Free by A Rocket to the Moon~**_

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There was a smile on all of their faces. All of them were excited for us. Paul and I were instantly jumped on with hugs and congratulations. Having them all there to support us was great. My mom had decided she wanted some pictures. Me with Paul, me with everyone else, me with her and Grandma, And even Paul with everyone.

Just as my mom had finished, a man had found his way to us. He placed an arm around Paul. Paul just smiled. That was when I saw it. This man...this man had to be his father. Paul definitely looked like a lot his father. It was a surprise. I know I would meet him eventually but I just didn't know when. My breathe was caught in my throat as Paul brought him to me. "Ellie, this is my dad. Dad this is my girlfriend, Ellie."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Lahote."

"Please call me Avery. Nice to finally meet the girl that has stolen my boys heart. So I..."

"She said she would Dad."

"When did you say yes?"

"Today. Just after the ceremony ended. And I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?"

"Paul mentioned that you've helped him with the house, that you gave him some money."

"Well, he is my son. I've tried to do the best for him since his mother left us."

"I know the feeling sir. My father left me and my mother when I was young."

"Kindred spirits you and Paul."

"I would have to say so."

He gave a smile and hugged me. Surprising but I did hug back. He seemed like a nice man.

And so it started again. My mom had to take more pictures, of Paul and his dad and of me with them. It was this nice moment. After that was done, Grandma went over to Paul's Dad. "Avery, we were all going to go to Sam and Emily's as a little graduation party for Paul and Ellie. You are welcome to come."

"I'd like that."

That was the nice part. He was involved now to. I didn't know if he knew, but he would be a part of my life in one way or another. It was with that invitation that we left and all headed over to Sam and Emily's house.

Decorations all around. They had actually decorated the place a little bit. It was nice. Emily, Kim, and Liz had made food. I just couldn't believe that they did this for me and him. Moments like this were still hard for me to take in but it was nice still. It wasn't just Paul that they were doing this for. They cared about me too. La Push was the best place I could have been. No doubt about that.

Music was playing. Everyone was chatting. The food was amazing. Damn those girls could cook. I sat down on the sofa next to Paul's Dad. I understood more about Paul after talking to him. His mother left him and only had his dad to take care of him. His dad took on a two jobs to make sure he could provide for his son. The reason I had never met him up until that point, he was almost always working. It wasn't that Paul never had his dad there because his dad didn't love him. It was because he loved him that he worked more then he could have.

As I sat chatting with him, I had noticed that Sophia had gone over to talk to Paul. Apparently his dad noticed this too. "So that girl, her name is Sophia?"

"Yeah. She's been my best friend for I don't know how long. She's like a sister to me."

"She seems be very energetic usually but yet right now, she is being very serious talking to him."

"I told her he asked me to move in with him before I told him my answer. She told me then that she wanted a few words with him."

"Over-protective mode I'm guessing."

"She does it with the best intentions. Before I moved here, I never really had many friends. Even though she is just a tiny bit younger, she sometimes acts like a big sister. I love her for it though."

The conversation went on until Sophia had stopped talking to Paul and came over to us.

.

.

.

All I wanted to do was get a drink. That was the only thing I meant to do. And then Sophia came to me. Ellie mentioned she wanted a chat. "Paul."

"Sophia."

"I'm sure she told you I wanted a chat. You asked her to move in with you? And she said yes?"

"Yes."

"And you want this? You want to move in with her? It's not some ploy or plan?"

How could she say that? "I do want this. I love her more than anything. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for her."

"And in this image you have of you and her...what do you see for the future?"

"You want the truth?"

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want to know."

"I see us together, until we die. I know some might say it's too soon to think about it, or that we might be too young, but one day, I see myself marrying her. I want to call her my wife, to have a family."

That seemed to shock her. "You're not joking."

He face was serious. She wasn't trying to poke fun. She knew I wasn't kidding. "Sophia, I know she had trouble in her past. I know she never had her father. I never had my mother. I would give my life to save her if it came to that. I would do anything to protect her. I look into my future, I only see her. I..."

"I know. I see that in the way that you two are together. I see it in the way you talk about her, the way you look at her. She is like a sister to me. I love her like one. I promise you, you hurt her in any way and you will regret it. I get a call from her saying you did something, I will find you and rip your balls off. Slow and painful."

Instant reaction? Cover myself. She was serious. For a girl so much smaller then me, she scared me. If given the opportunity, she would seriously hurt me. She had these eyes, like she was daring me to push that button. "Paul. I'm giving you the benefit of a doubt here. She loves you. She cares about you. For her to say yes to moving in is a big deal. I know it may not be much coming from me. You don't really know me. But I will not let her get hurt. Just like you, I will try to protect her. If I can't stop her being hurt, whoever hurt her will be in for a world of pain. Just remember that."

"Got it."

And she walked away to Ellie. How can one girl scare the crap out of me like that? She's got some guts.

.

.

I wanted to see what was going to say. From what I saw, Paul was _un-nerved_ by her. She said nothing. Just had a smile on her face. "Sophia."

"Ellie." she said with that child-like voice.

"What did you say to him?"

"Just said I'm giving him the benefit of a doubt. And that he will be missing his balls if he ever does anything to you."

I couldn't help but laugh. That image in my mind just made me laugh. Seems like his dad felt the same way. HE was laughing right alongside me. Standing up, I hugged her. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

"Yay! I feel the love." Sarcasm evident in her voice.

"You know I love you."

"I know."

There was an awkward moment.

It was then that I knew there was something else. She was never awkward around me. Something was up. "Sophia."

"Ellie...I..."

"Just say it girl."

"I want to hang out with you more. I want to get to see you but..."

I knew where this was going. "Sophia, just do it. Hang out with him. You are my sister. I know it's an odd feeling to you, liking Seth and all. Spend time with him. I get it. I won't be mad if you do. Besides, I'm coming down to see you graduate next week. I'll get to spend more time with you then."

"I'm leaving early tomorrow. Are you..."

"Just do it before I kick your ass. How the hell can you un-nerve Paul and then just become like a puppy who got caught doing something wrong?" I said with a laugh.

She just stuck her tongue out and then hugged me. Without another word, she went off to find her little Sethy boy.

Only when Sophia had walked away did Paul make his way over to me and his father. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. "Your friend is odd."

"Eeh. You get used to it."

"I'll have to for Seth's benefit now won't I?" he said with a laugh.

"Now, I have more questions for your father. I want to hear some stories from when you were young."

"You wouldn't."

"You know I would."

Before he could stop me, I was back sitting next to his father. Time to get a little more incite on the guy I was in love with.

So many little stories. Paul just sat there. He didn't exactly want them told but he didn't stop his dad. He saw I really wanted to know. My favourite story was from when he was five. He had gotten muddy playing in their front yard. And because he still wanted to play but didn't like the dirty clothes, he took them all off and continued running around in his birthday suit. A close second was when he was thirteen. He was trying to show off to some friends while he was on a bike. He ended up smashing into a wall just as someone was a big truck passed by. Being the area, there happened to be wet roads and he got soaked.

Everything about the day was perfect. I could not have imagine that day going any better. I graduated. I actually met Paul's dad and he's a good man. I got to see Sophia with Seth, see my mother. Hanging out with everyone was great. Seeing the interaction, and the love made me feel so amazing. I knew before that I did, but that day cemented that I belonged there, that there was nowhere else in the world that I needed to be. And a huge thing for me was telling Paul my answer. Seeing his reaction, knowing that I was the reason for his happiness made the day even more special. It was the fact that I caused that, that I could affect someone so much and in such a good way.

.

.

Seeing Sophia off, wasn't as hard as I would have thought. It was knowing that I would see her soon enough, and that she would be coming back to La Push with me. My mom, grandma, Sophia, myself, Paul and Seth were all at Grandma's house that morning. Those most of the time Seth was with Sophia, there was a moment where I was able to talk to him. "I see you two are having a good time together."

"She's awesome."

"That she is my boy. Do you have any idea when you're going to tell her?"

"I'm not sure yet. I want to tell her. I want her to know everything. But..."

"You're scared. You don't want her to run away. I get it."

"What do I do?"

He looked so scared, so unsure. And I wanted to help him. "Sophia is a go with the flow kind of girl. She usually takes things fairly well. I do have an idea that might help. I think I should tell her about me first."

"What?"

"I think if I tell her about what I can do, we can test the water to see how she would react to that. With how she reacts, we can find a way to for you to tell her."

"You would do that for me?"

"Seth," I said placing an arm around his shoulder, "She's going to find out about me anyway. If telling her will help you, I'll do it first. You are a great guy. The whole pack is like a family to me. You are like a brother to me."

"Thanks."

"Now...time to show her off. Don't want her to leave without saying goodbye."

He nodded.

Watching their goodbye was sweet. They both had this nervous 'I like you but I can't tell you and don't want to say good bye' thing. It was cute. When it was my turn, I hugged her. "I'll see you on Thursday. I can't wait to get you back here. There is so much more to this place than what you have seen."

"I'm sure. Don't have too much fun now."

"Too late for that." I said with a smirk.

"Damn you. Now I have that image in my head."

"You know you love me."

"Only sometimes." She said with a laugh.

With her goodbye finished, I also had to do the same to my mom.

Hers was a little more emotional. She hugged me and didn't want to let go. My mom actually cried. It was hard for me to see that. "I love you Eleanor."

"I love you too Mom. You don't need to cry."

"You're my little girl, my baby, and you've grown up. You graduated. You're almost 18. You'll be moving in with Paul. You're not that little girl anymore. I'm almost afraid I'm going to lose you."

"You won't lose me, Mom. You'll never lose me. I will never lose contact with you. I couldn't do that to you. I'd miss you too much."

"One day you'll have your own family..."

"Which you will always be included in. You're my mom. I will not lose you."

"I love you sweetheart."

"I love you Mom."

Sadly, that was all we had time for.

My mom and Sophia had to leave. There was a few last words between all of us and a few more hugs. When they got in the car and drove off, I waved until they were out of sight. As if he sensed my sadness, Paul just wrapped his arms around me and kept them there. "Ellie, you'll see them again."

"I know. I just hate the goodbyes."

"Well, it may not take it away, but it might help, I have plans for us today. You did say you were all mine today."

"That I did."

"Well then...let's get it started. Good times are ahead, Angel."

Even just his smile made me feel better.


End file.
